


No Such Data Exists

by Quipxotic



Series: Dark Matter: Season 1 AU [1]
Category: Dark Matter (TV)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, As I say: I don't know what the hell I'm doing, Canon-Typical Violence, Dressing as the Enemy, Friends to Enemies, Gen, Great Escape, Guess we'll find out together, My First Fanfic, Post-Season 1 Finale | Dark Matter, Science Fiction, Spoilers, The Fractured Family of the Raza, We Used To Be Friends, prison break - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-10
Updated: 2016-03-30
Packaged: 2018-04-25 17:27:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 26,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4969888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quipxotic/pseuds/Quipxotic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What happens after the end of the Season 1 finale? </p><p>This is my first attempt at fan fiction, so please be gentle. It’s an AU set after the season 1 finale of Dark Matter, so there are plenty of spoilers from the end of the season; call it my attempt to make sense of the cliffhanger.</p><p>I had intended this to be a one-off but, clearly, it's grown beyond that.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Why?

Six could hear the sounds of fighting at the end of the Galactic Authority ship’s cell block. Someone was trying to escape - probably Three by the amount of noise they were making. Six observed it all with a distant calm - it was over already, even if not all of his former shipmates realized it. 

“Why?” Six turned to the source of the question. He found Four in a nearby cell, sitting up shakily and apparently still feelings the effects of the neurotoxin. Six stepped back further into the hallway and away from the cell bars. He knew how dangerous Four was, it wouldn’t be wise to underestimate him and Six had certainly given him plenty of reason to attack.

“It was something you said actually - when we were sitting in the _Marauder_ waiting on the ground team during the last job. I said I’d tried to stop you all from delivering that device to the Mikkei Combine. You questioned whether I’d really tried - implied that I was just as responsible for all those deaths as the rest of you were.” Six pulled his hands out of his trench coat pockets and gestured towards Four. “You were right, I could have done more to stop you. I could have turned us all in. So that’s what I did.”

“They will put you on trial too. You’ll be executed as a terrorist and never be able to see that the General pays for his crimes,” Four said as he stood and walked gingerly toward the cell door. “How does that serve your purposes?”

“It doesn’t, but everywhere we go people die because of us. We may not remember our pasts but we’re reliving them anyway.”  Six put his hands back in his pockets and seemed to try to shrink into himself. “I’ve been unknowingly complicit in mass murder once already. I won’t sit by and allow that to happen again.”

“What about One and Five?” Four asked as he leaned on the wall near the cell door and studied Six intently.

Six shrugged. “Like you said before, One isn’t one of us. They’ll run his DNA, realize he’s not the real Jace Corso, and let him go. As for Five…” He turned away from Four for a moment to look down the hallway - perhaps to confirm that the GA soldiers had thwarted the escape attempt or perhaps to hide his expression from the other man. “She’s just a kid. She doesn’t have a record and Two wouldn’t have let her leave even if Five had wanted to go. She had no choice. I’ll make sure that the GA sees that and they’ll let her go too.”

The hallway was quiet now except for the sounds of their own voices and the distant laughter of a few soldiers. Six sighed and turned back towards Four. “Five and One are good people, but the longer they were with us the more they started becoming like us. This is the only way to save them from all that.”

Four chuckled grimly. “Is that what you think you are doing? Saving them? What if the Galactic Authorities decide to prosecute the two of them for the things they’ve both done since they’ve been with us? They will go to jail - if they’re lucky.”

“I’ll deal with that if it happens,” Six stated flatly, not meeting Four’s eyes.

“And how will you do that if the GA execute you first? Can you imagine Five or One in a Galactic prison, without anyone to teach them how to survive?” Four looked at the floor and then back at Six. “They’ll either die or adapt. Become like us. You will have caused the thing you were trying to protect them from.”

“We’ll see,” Six answered.

“No, we won’t. Because I will escape and free the others.” Four pushed off the wall and moved to stand in front of Six with his arms folded over his chest. “And then if Three or Two won’t kill you, I will. You will not have a chance to betray us a second time.” He said it without anger, as a simple statement of fact and of intention. A live enemy was a threat that must be dealt with and Six had made himself their enemy.

“Good luck with that,” Six said as he turned and began walking out of the brig. “It’s not like I don’t deserve it,” he whispered so quietly that Four may not have heard.

Four returned to the back of the cell to sit, listen, and plan. He closed his eyes and waited. 


	2. A Time To Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How will One and Three react after the events of the season 1 finale of Dark Matter?
> 
> Here’s my second attempt at fan fiction. Like the first ficlet, this one is an AU set after the season 1 finale of Dark Matter. So there are plenty of spoilers from the end of the season below - reader beware.

Three groaned into consciousness face down on the floor of his cell. Everything hurt from the shock sticks the GA soldiers had used to stop his recent escape attempt and his lungs still burned from the gas deployed to subdue them on _The Raza_.

“Are you okay?” The voice was nearby but Three couldn’t identify it immediately. He pushed up off the floor onto his knees in an attempt to stand but ended up slipping backward and landing hard on his ass. It wasn’t dignified or graceful, but at least he was sitting mostly upright again. He looked to find out who had spoken.

One leaned against the bars of the cell across the hallway from him and eyed Three worriedly. “You need to stop fighting them. At this rate the GA are either going to seriously injure you or decide to restrain you…and that won’t help any of us.”

“Us?” Three scoffed. “What us, pretty boy? You’re the reason we’re here in the first place!”

“Seriously? You still think I’m behind this?” One asked incredulously. Taking a step back he gestured around in disbelief. “If I had turned you all over to the GA then why would I be in this cell? Besides, I couldn’t have gassed us - I was standing right beside you when the canisters were thrown into the hallway!”

“Maybe,” Three conceded grudgingly. “But that means it wasn’t me either,” he smirked, “so you were wrong, smart guy.”

One sighed and leaned heavily against the bars of his cell again. “Yeah, maybe I was. But that doesn’t matter right now. We need to figure out what our situation is and come up with a plan.”

Three managed to push up to his feet and sit unsteadily on the cell’s built-in bed. “I’m pretty sure our situation is that we’re in jail and in GA custody. Next?”

“Not that,” One said impatiently. “You, me, Two, and Five were all in view of each other when we were attacked on _The Raza_. There wasn’t enough time for the GA to get to us, so that only leaves two options: Four and Six.”

“They were both drugged and out cold, how could it be either of them?”

One shrugged, “Maybe one of them was faking? Or maybe whoever it was took just enough of something to put himself out for a few minutes so that we’d let our guard down?”

“My guard is never down,” Three sneered as he glared at One.

“You know what I mean.” One ignored the look. He was focused on piecing together the puzzle of the last few hours. “Whoever did this drugged himself in order to shift suspicion elsewhere. When the drugs wore off he could move freely about the ship while the rest of us were busy suspecting each other.”

Three tested a cut on his lower lip with his tongue. “Not Four then. He’d look you in the eyes and kill you, sure. But druggin’ you beforehand, playin’ dead, and sneakin’ around? Not his style.”

“Agreed,” One replied, “That means it has to be Six.” He made an exasperated noise and turned to pace towards the back of his cell. “But why would he do it? It makes no sense!”

“Easy: money. The bounty on all of us would give him a tidy sum. A man could retire somewhere nice with that kind of money. Or go on some really fun benders.”

One continued pacing his cell as he spoke, “That’s not Six’s style. He wouldn’t do anything that might endanger Five for just a quick payoff.”

“Maybe he cut a deal with the GA to spring her after the rest of us were caught?” Three looked at One with a serious expression. “Bit surprised he handed you over. I thought you two were friends.”

“So did I.” One sat down on the cell bed with a sad expression on his face. “Guess I was wrong about that too. Or maybe it’s like Four and Six said when we were locked in the vault - he figures the GA will let me go when they realize who I am. Or more to the point, who I’m not.” One leaned back and rested his head against the cell wall. “But why would he help us rescue Two if he was just going to hand us over to the GA? He has to know what they’ll do to her.”

“Maybe he just doesn’t care, who the hell knows,” Three said dismissively. Standing suddenly and walking to the bars of his cell, he tried to look down the the hallway without much success. “Where is she anyway? And Four and the kid?”

“I don’t know.” One sounded worried. “I’ve only seen you, although I thought I heard someone else talking nearby while you were struggling with the guards. I couldn’t tell who it was because you were making too much noise.” He looked at the ceiling as he tried to search his memories for something useful.

“I’ll fight for my life more quietly next time,” Three said, annoyed. “You could’ve helped, by the way. We could’ve been outta here by now.”

One looked at Three and raised an eyebrow, “Do you honestly think that would have helped? There were six of them and two of us and besides, they were armed and we weren’t.” He paused and when he spoke again sarcasm was clear in his voice. “I have to say, I’m touched that you think so much of my fighting skills.”

Three snorted. “You may not be good at it but you’re better than nothing.”

“I was good enough to get the drop on you twice on _The Raza_.” One no longer sounded sarcastic, just very serious. “If I’d wanted to kill you you’d already be dead.”

“You got lucky. And that’s beside the point. We need to do something here, now! Anything would be better than standin’ around doing nothing while Two is who knows where.” He hit the bars with the flat of his hand. “Don’t you care what they’re doing to her?”

“Yes, of course I care but Two can take care of herself better than the rest of us can. That’s probably why she’s not here now - they’ve moved her to some higher security location on the ship to keep her contained.” He looked angrily at Three, “We need to figure out where we are, where she and the others are, and where _The Raza_ is. Then we need to come up with a plan to get out of these cells, free the others, and get to the ship before the GA can reach wherever it is that they’re taking us.”

“And we need to kill Six,” Three met One’s glare with one of his own, “I’ll do it, if you’re squeamish.”

“Six is the least of our worries. We can’t waste time trying to even the score with him and risk losing any chance we have to escape.” One leaned forward. “So if you honestly care about what happens to Two and the others, you’ll focus on getting out of here rather than revenge.”

Three huffed in annoyance but said nothing, so One continued, “I want to know why he turned on us because that could indicate what he’s told the GA about us. If he was forced into doing this, maybe he held back from telling them everything.” One noticed Three’s disdainful look at that. “It could have happened like that, I mean he put a lot of effort into not hurting us. And he didn’t use the android.”

“He didn’t want to risk losing the bounty.” 

“Maybe. But if he’s told them about Two, we’re all screwed. If he hasn’t and if he’s cut a deal to keep Five in a more comfortable and less secure location, maybe she can break out Two and the rest of us if we can communicate with her.”

“There’s a lot of ‘ifs” and “maybes” in that plan,” Three pointed out wryly, “And it all depends on the kid. I don’t like it.”

“I don’t either, but it’s the best I’ve come up with so far. There’s no exposed locks on the cell doors so we can’t pick them. For that matter we don’t even remember if either of us know how to pick a lock and I haven’t got anything on me to try with. You?”

“No,” Three said grumpily.

“Then I’m open to suggestions if you have any.”

“Fine,” Three said as he walked back to the cell bed to sit down across from One. “What next, genius?”

“Okay then. We need information. We just need to figure out how to get it…” 


	3. Too Much and Not Enough

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where is Two? What happens after the end of the season 1 finale of Dark Matter?
> 
> Here’s my third fan fic. Like the other two, this one is an AU set after the season 1 finale of Dark Matter. So there are plenty of spoilers from the end of the season below - reader beware.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Other notes: writing action is hard.

She was aware of the dark first. Then there was a rushing sound in her ears, like quick moving water nearby, which slowly resolved into static, and then into the sound of footsteps echoing on metal. Then came a feeling of motion - the sense of being half-carried, half-dragged - followed by the realization of unknown hands gripping her arms on either side and of her hands locked together in an uncomfortable position behind her. She both felt and heard the handcuffs hit metal on metal as she was jostled.

Two slowed her breathing to fake unconsciousness and tried to remember where she was, what had just happened. Clearly she needed to escape, but from where?

At first it was a blank and then she began to remember…

_“Help! Help! Somebody help!”_

_“What’d you think we were gonna do? We’re gonna bunk together, all six of us?”_

_“I don’t think it matters because I’m guessing whoever did this doesn’t have the skill set to reprogram her.”_

_“Like I said before, we should stick together, just to be safe.”_

_“I don’t fear the Android, and I surely don’t fear any of you…”_

_“I’m assuming this isn’t something you just sleep off?”_

_“So someone had to get close enough to him to do it. Meaning it was someone he trusted.”_

_“You kill me now or he kills me later. Not much of a choice.”_

_“If you two hadn’t been so busy suspecting each other you might’ve seen it. But she played you both.”_

She remembered standing in a corridor of _The Raza_ with a gun to One’s back, hoping that she wouldn’t have to shoot him. Then the shock of Five aiming a gun at her, accusing her of being a mole on her own ship. The sound of the Galactic Authority destroyer docking, the doors to the hallway closing, locking them in, and then the gas and waking suddenly to face…

Six.

And almost on cue she heard Six’s voice in the distance, moving closer from somewhere behind her. Keeping her head steady and her body relaxed, she opened her eyes slightly to risk a quick look. In front of her she saw two armed and armored GA soldiers carrying a seemingly unconscious man in much the same way that she herself was being carried. She guessed that it was One by his build and white t-shirt. She saw no one else from her crew and barely had time to realize that the soldiers were walking them through _The Raza’s_ airlock and onto another ship before the voices caught up with her. She closed her eyes.

“…if you keep him and Boone near each other but separate, they’ll probably spend so much time arguing that they won’t have a chance to give you trouble,” Six was saying to someone. “But you’ll want to keep Lin and Tetsuda separate from the others, in fact if you’ve got a solitary confinement cell you should put her in it.”

“I get that she’s dangerous, they all are, but surely she’s not more dangerous than the others?” an unknown male voice said.

“Trust me, she is,” answered Six.

“What about the girl?”

“She’s just a stowaway, she’s not a threat to anyone. Just keep her away from any kind of tech - she likes to take stuff apart. And she’ll probably need medical attention once she comes to, so the infirmary?”

“Got it. By the way, the commander wants to see you ASAP, Jones.”

“O-kay?” Six sounded slightly confused but he covered it well. “If you’ll point me in the right direction I’ll head there after we’ve got them secured.”

Time was running out. Any minute the soldiers would close the hatch and then she and her crew would be separated from _The Raza_ , their only hope of escape. It was time to act. Two was jostled again by her handlers as they carried her through a doorway. This time she jerked her right arm quickly, slipping out of the hold of the soldier on that side. As she began to fall she used her momentum to unbalance the guard on her left, pulling him into his compatriot. Both men went down in a tangled heap, blocking the narrow corridor behind her. She rolled into a somersault, pulling her cuffed hands behind her legs and slipping her feet through as she rolled. Her hands now in front of her, she gained her feet and launched herself at the men carrying One. Her shoulder connected with a soldier’s lower back and he stumbled forward, so she turned to the other one. He was still holding One’s arm with one hand while reaching with the other for a sidearm.

Two kicked him backward into the wall. She had no time to watch him fall because the other soldier was on her, rushing at her from behind with a stun stick drawn. She sidestepped him and kicked at the back of his knees while reaching for his weapon. The man went down again and she pulled the stun stick from his hands. In a fluid motion she engaged the electrical current and jammed the end of the stick into the chest of soldier she’d pushed into the wall. He went down in a heap, but there were more behind him. The men who had been carrying her were on their feet and advancing on her, followed by other soldiers. They couldn’t surround her because the narrow corridor limited their movement and she made sure to keep the shock stick between her and them. They couldn’t risk shooting her because they wanted her alive, but they were forcing her backwards, away from the hatch and her crew. She could see them all now, cuffed and laying haphazardly on the floor behind the soldiers - One, Three, Four, Five, and the Android.

And of course there was Six - her eyes met his as he moved forward through the soldiers. “Don’t make this harder than it has to be, Portia,” he said, almost sadly.

“Oh I’m just getting started,” Two promised tersely. She had a brief moment to wonder why he was calling her by that name before she heard movement behind her - reinforcements from the GA ship were arriving. As she glanced back, the soldiers with Six rushed her en masse. She hit outward with the shock stick and with her elbows, knees, and feet but there were too many of them. Above the sounds of the fight, she heard the low metallic bang of the airlock closing and locking into place. As the others pinned her body, from the corner of her eye she saw one soldier rear back his arm. She never saw the blow but felt then pain as it connected with the side of her head. And then she was out again.

When she woke she was shackled in a small, dimly lit room. She tested the shackles and decide she could probably rip them out of the wall, but then she saw a blinking red light near the only door. A camera - she was being watched. She’d need to time her escape well because they’d know about it immediately. She wondered how much time had passed - where were her crew, her ship?  

Was the situation already too far gone to be salvaged?


	4. Shifting Alliances

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So now it's Five's turn.
> 
> As before, this is an AU taking place after the season 1 finale of Dark Matter. Here there be spoilers - reader beware.

Five was dreaming a memory. She knew it wasn’t her memory because she’d heard the conversation before in an entirely different setting.

“So?” She was sitting at the mess hall table. Across from her sat Four. She glanced to make sure the door of the room was closed and that they were alone. It was important that the others not know about their plans. 

“You were right.”

“Then we’re agreed?” she asked, already knowing the answer. These must be Two’s memories.

“Yes”

“He has to die.” 

“When?”

“Before we get to the mining colony, after we come out of stasis.”

Four nodded his agreement and thumped the table with this fist. “How?”

“I’ll program the stasis pods so that I wake up first. And then I’ll take care of it.”

The dream shifted - she was sitting in the same place but it must have been at a different time. Now Six and One were sitting at the table with her. 

“I need more time,” One was saying. He sounded very frustrated.

“Look, I feel for you, Moss. But we have to stop this before we get to that mining colony or else it’s going to be a slaughter.” Six folded his arms across his chest as he spoke. “Besides, I have my orders.” 

“But this is the best chance I’ll ever have to find out who paid Boone to kill my wife! You’ve got to give me more time!” 

“There is no more time! Or are you really ready to let hundreds of people die just so you can weasel information out of Boone?” Six asked, clearly exasperated. “Trust me, you don’t want a massacre on your conscience.” 

One looked away with a pained expression on his face. When Six spoke again his tone was more gentle. “This isn’t your last chance. There are other ways to get the information you’re after and when the Galactic Authorities pick us up, I’ll do whatever I can to help you. You have my word, Derrick.” 

“Please,” Five said. She looked down at her hands and recognized the sleeves of the shirt she wore as belonging to one that she owned. Was this one of her memories? “I don’t want to watch anyone die. And I don’t wanna risk being thrown out of an airlock if one of the others changes their mind about letting me stay. Let’s just change the direction of the ship while they’re in stasis and go somewhere else! Maybe leave them on some other planet so they can’t hurt anyone?”

“That won’t work,” Six said. “Lin keeps too close an eye on the ship’s systems. We’d be discovered.”

“Not if I programmed the status pods so that I wake up first,” One said hopefully, “I could alter the controls and make it look like a mechanical malfunction. It would buy us more time, at least.”

“No!” Six said commandingly, “We stick to the plan. There’s no room for anyone to freelance here. The stakes are too high. Agreed?” He glared meaningfully at One.

One glared back, but then shook his head and conceded. “Fine.”

Six turned to Five, “Agreed?”

“Sure,” Five said quietly. Under the table she fingered a mini-drive. She slipped it into her pocket quickly - it was important that the others didn’t see it.

Five jerked back, hitting her head against the wall. At least the pain meant that she was awake and not still dreaming. She tried to remember what this dream had been about…something about the stasis pods again? Then she realized that her hands were handcuffed behind her and she looked around, trying to orient herself. 

In front of her was an open door. In the room beyond, soldiers were manacling an unconscious Two to the wall. Five heard a commotion to her right. She turned to see another open doorway leading to a hallway; a sign above the door read “Prison Area 2.” Five could hear Three yelling obscenities in the distance and the sounds of a fight coming from somewhere down the hallway. Several of the soldiers who had been in the room with Two rushed out and ran towards the sounds.

“Awake I see? Well, we’d best get you out of here, hadn’t we?” Five turned towards the voice and saw a soldier leaning over her, evidently speaking to her. He smiled condescendingly as he took hold of her arm and pulled her to her feet.

Five tried to pull away without much result. “Where am I? What’s going on?” she asked. She was frightened but she was also angry. “What are they doing to her?” she asked, nodding towards Two.

“Nothing you need to worry about, sweetheart,” answered the soldier. His tone was decidedly oily and it made Five want to stomp on his foot and scream in his face. “Lieutenant Jones wants you checked out by the doctor first thing. Then we’ll see if we can’t find out who you are and how you came to be in the middle of all of this.” He pulled her somewhat roughly out into another hallway.

“What? Who’s Lieutenant Jones? Let go of me!” Five twisted to look behind her as she was pulled away from her friends. The door she’d just exited through had a sign above it that read “Prison Area 1.” The soldier continued to pull her away and she was forced to face in the direction they were walking or risk falling. She resolved to see everything - remember every turn, every door, every security check point so that she could find her way back to her crewmates.

The soldier laughed at her. “I suppose you don’t know who he is, do you? Probably went by another name on the ship. Risks of undercover work, I guess? Lucky bastard. He’ll probably get promoted for bagging the crew of _The Raza_.” 

Five’s mind was spinning - she was struggling to watch where they were going while making sense of this new information. So they had been right - there was a mole on the ship! She searched her memories of the last events on _The Raza_. The standoff and the gas canisters! It couldn’t have been One or Three, they’d been as surprised by it as she herself had been. And the guard had said “he” so it couldn’t have been Two. She felt a brief pang of guilt at having accused her friend of something she hadn’t done, but that feeling was quickly overwhelmed when she realized where she’d heard the name Jones before.

“Griffin Jones,” Five said quietly.

“Yup, that’s him,” agreed the soldier, turning to look at her. “So you do know him?”

“No,” Five said, still stunned, “I really don’t.”


	5. Ikari and Aegeus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As with the past chapters, this is an AU taking place after the season 1 finale of Dark Matter. There will be spoilers and headcanons below.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wonder if the writers of this show realized what they were doing when they named the Galactic Authority, as far as what it meant for their ship names? Perhaps I just have the sense of humor of a six-year-old, but I can't type G.A.S. [ship name] with a straight face or leave it in this fic without making a joke out of it. Which is why you won't see any mention of G.A.S. in this chapter, even though it should be there.
> 
> ...Maybe if the ship's name was Giant, then it would be okay.
> 
> Up until now I've been writing in text documents because I didn't expect this story to be much of anything. But, in doing just a brief outline last night of what I think is going to happen in this fic, it looks like I have a looong way to go. So I think it's time to move the whole lot into Scriviner so I can keep track of what's going on. That may delay the next chapter, but hopefully it'll keep me from mixing up names and terminology.

Six followed a soldier through the Galactic Authority destroyer. The ship was massive, so much larger than _The Raza_ that it was easy to get lost. When they reached the bridge, they found it bustling with people - soldiers, techs, and other service personnel going about their usual business of making the ship run in an orderly fashion. In a back corner of the room an android stood completely still and seemingly oblivious to the people working nearby. The lights of the charging station she stood in glowed brightly. Glancing towards the the front of the bridge, Six saw that the ship wasn’t moving which, while it confirmed his suspicions since he hadn’t felt a jump to FTL, was somewhat surprising. _The Raza_ had dropped out into normal space relatively close to the edge of the Galactic Authority’s jurisdiction and it would take the GA destroyer a while to return to a base from way out here. Six imagined they wouldn’t want to wait around any longer than they had to. 

Near the main control systems, a man in a commander’s uniform was speaking with a junior officer. Six and his guide approached the pair, stopping at a discrete distance to wait their turn.

“…We have a malfunction in the one of the arrays. It will need to be fixed before we can use the FTL drive, sir,” the junior officer was saying.

“Do it quickly, I want to get these criminals to Judicial Operations and off of my ship as soon as possible. And Carmichael, tell the techs on _The Raza_ that I want her programmed to head to the nearest Class 1 Technical Facility. I don’t want her docked any longer than necessary.”

“Yes sir, Commander Ikari, but about that sir…the techs say that some of _The Raza’s_ systems have been locked with some sort of passcode. They haven’t been able to get past it yet.”

“Well where is the…” Commander Ikari glanced up and met Six’s eyes, “Ah, there he is. Welcome aboard the Galactic Authority Destroyer _Aegeus_ , Lieutenant Jones. Now if you would kindly give Lieutenant Carmichael the passcode, we’ll see that the merc’s ship is handed over to a few of our best agents. Once it’s been searched, it will be stripped for parts and finally put to good use.”

Six was stunned into silence for several seconds. His mind first tried to grapple with the image of _The Raza_ being dismantled for spare parts - it was an idea he found surprisingly repugnant. And then there was the rank the commander had associated with his name, what was that about? Six realized that the silence was dragging on uncomfortably as everyone waited for him to answer. “Oh…the passcode is Hyadum Twelve…sir.”

The commander raised an eyebrow and quietly studied Six for a moment. Finally he turned to his officer, “You heard, Carmichael. Take care of it.”

“Yes sir.” Carmichael turned on her heels and quickly walked out of the bridge and into the hallway, typing into a small device as she went.

“So, Lieutenant,” the commander continued, “You’ll need to be debriefed, of course. GA Command will particularly want to know why you’ve been out of contact for so long. But that can wait until we’re underway. Meanwhile, I’m sure you could use some sleep. No doubt you’ve had more than your share of sleepless nights on this mission. You’re dismissed.”

“Yes sir, thank you,” Six began as the commander turned away from him, “But Commander Ikari, there’s something you should know first.”

The commander turned back to Six. “Yes?”

Six hesitated. There was so much going on here that he didn’t understand. He thought he was doing the right thing, but what if he was wrong? Could he trust these people? Without any way to deduce an answer from what he’d seen so far, he decide to continue with his original plan. “The man claiming to be Jace Corso…isn’t him. I’m not sure who he is, but I think he’s a civilian. A DNA test should answer the question.”

Commander Ikari paused and then nodded. “Understood. Anything else?”

Six thought quickly, weighing the options while the commander held his gaze. “No sir,” he answered finally.

“Good. Get some rest, Jones. The crewman’s quarters in Area 10-F are empty. Make good use of it while you can. ” The commander turned and began typing something into the main control panel.

“Yes sir,” Six said again, turning and walking away quickly. He’d need to stop someone to ask the way to Area 10-F first and then see if he could get access to the net or some kind of internal personnel information management system. More than anything else, he needed to do some research on Lieutenant Griffin Jones.

Meanwhile, out in space beyond the sensor range of the _Aegeus_ , another ship dropped out of FTL. It drifted there, observing the Galactic Authority ship and _The Raza_ a while, and then it began sending a coded subspace message out past the edge of colonized space.


	6. The Infirmary Tango, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time to pick up the story again with Five, Three, and One (and a brief glimpse of Four). As with the past chapters, this is an AU taking place after the season 1 finale of Dark Matter. There will be spoilers and headcanons below.
> 
> This one's been a bit of a slow slog, so I'm breaking it into smaller bits to keep myself motivated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This felt like it took a long time to write, even though it's only been a few days. I've evidently passed through the "Oh everything's fun!" phase of writing into the "Oh crap this is work!" phase. I hate that phase, it's why I've never completed a single NaNoWriMo that I've ever done.
> 
> If you're interested in the inspiration for the song mentioned in this one, check out "I'm Shipping Up to Boston" by Dropkick Murphys.

“Man, I love this plan.”

“Shut up.”

“Just sittin’ on our asses, doing nothing.”

“As I’ve said before, we’re waiting for an opportunity.”

“…Waiting for…something, we’re not sure what. Waiting forever…”

“It’s not even been an hour.”

“…Or until they come to haul us in for trial, whichever one comes first…”

“This is hell isn’t it?” One said to no one in particular. “I’m stuck in hell with an idiot.”

Three was quiet for a moment. “Have I mentioned how much I love this plan?” he asked.

In a cell on the farthest end of the hallway from the other two men, Four sighed in annoyance and laid down to meditate.

——

When Five and the soldier arrived in the infirmary it was empty.

“Great,” the man muttered and pressed his finger to his comm. “Doctor Matthews? It’s Ensign Reiss. I have a non-emergency patient for you in Infirmary 3-C.” There was no immediate answer. “Well I can’t wait around here all day,” Reiss grumbled. He pulled Five over to a nearby hospital bed, unlocked one side of the handcuffs from her wrist, and then handcuffed her to the rail of the bed. “Now sweetheart, listen here,” he said as he waggled a finger in Five’s face, “Stay quiet and mind your manners, right? The doc will be here soon.”

“Yeah,” Five mumbled barely making eye contact, “sure thing.”

The ensign looked sternly at her for a moment and then walked quickly out of the infirmary, closing the door behind him; Five heard the sound of him locking her in.

“Finally,” Five said with relief. She looked around for something to unlock the handcuffs with. Spotting a nearby cabinet, she dragged the bed across the floor until she was within reach of it. She began opening drawers, rummaging through medical devices, bandages, and other standard issue infirmary supplies until she found a small metal pick that she thought might work. She’d have to hurry, there was no telling when someone might return to check on her.

Ensign Reiss was on his way to his quarters when his comm sounded an alert indicating an incoming message. “Now what? Can’t a man go off shift in peace?” he complained. He pressed the on button - “Ensign Reiss…” he said in a voice that oozed polite deference.

“Reiss? Carmichael. The commander wants Corso taken to an infirmary for a genetic scan ASAP. You’re near there right?”

“Yes, Lieutenant…” Reiss replied.

“Good. Let me know once you've delivered him.”

“Yes, Lieutenant,” Reiss said resignedly. He clicked off his comm. “Join the the Galactic Authority, become a glorified delivery boy,” he muttered as he headed back to the prison area.

——

Three had taken to singing drinking songs at the top of his lungs. He was on his fifth refrain of “I’m Shipping Up to Titan” when One finally reached the limit of his patience. “Can you not just sit still and be quiet for, oh I don’t know, maybe ten minutes?” he yelled at the other man. 

“Yeah, but I’m bored and it’s not like there’s anything more useful to do.” Three answered. “Why, am I botherin' you?” he asked quite seriously although there was a twinkle in his eyes that indicated that he already knew the answer. 

“Of course you are!” One yelled angrily. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. “Just be quiet for little while. Someone is sure to be in here soon to either check on us or feed us. We can ask questions then.”

“You keep sayin' that, but why would they tell us squat?” asked Three, not for the first time.

“Because I’m going to be very convincing…or you’re going to be very annoying. Whichever works best,” One replied, trying to sound confident. It was a really bad plan…it wasn’t even a plan, it was more of a vague notion. One pondered the possibility that Three was right, maybe they should try ambushing the guards despite the terrible odds. 

There was a beeping sound as the door to the prison unit was unlocked. When it opened, Ensign Reiss entered, holding a small tablet in one hand and typing into it with the other. “What, no more songs?” he asked in a tone that was both sarcastic and disinterested. “Glad to hear one of you boys is enjoying your accommodations.” As he spoke, he faced Three’s cell and held the tablet up in his left hand. Looking over Reiss’ shoulder, One could see his own face, or rather Jace Corso’s face, on the tablet beside a list of criminal charges. Both the image and the data looked similar to what the android had managed to salvage from _The Raza’s_ computers.

“Oh they’re just swell,” Three sneered, walking towards the bars of his cell. “So where’s this tub off to?” he asked as he tried to cosy up to the door. Maybe he could reach through, knock the guard out against the bars, and grab the keys, assuming there were keys.

Reiss clanged a shock stick across the bars, the electricity hissing across the metal. One jumped slightly at the noise, he had been so intent on the tablet that he hadn’t noticed the soldier pick up the weapon. “We’re off to the GAJO unit on Station Sebrium-Five, once we’ve got a few things squared away with your ship.” Three and One made eye contact briefly - so the destroyer hadn’t left yet and _The Raza_ was still close by.

Reiss turned towards One. “Yup, that’s him,” he confirmed, comparing One’s face with the image on the tablet. “Rivers!” he yelled out into the hallway as he wiped the image and stowed the tablet inside a pocket of his uniform. A man at least a foot taller than Reiss stepped inside the brig and stood behind the ensign. Reiss took a small key card and placed it in front of a sensor on One’s cell door, which instantly slid open with a loud metallic bang.

One began backing away. “Look, I don’t think it’ll take two of you - I’m not resisting or anything, “ he said, opening his hands palm outward in front of him. Despite his nerves, he managed to keep his voice calm and reassuring.

Reiss grinned wickedly at him. “Yeah I know you’re not, sweetheart.” He quickly jabbed the shock stick into One’s shoulder. One yelled when the current hit him and then crumbled into a heap on the cell floor. Reiss paused a moment to step closer and then stuck him again with the shock stick. One cried out again and flailed uncontrollably.

“Hey why don’t you try that over here, tough guy!” Three yelled and banged the bars of his cell.

“Don’t need to,” Reiss replied, sounding bored again. He clipped the shock stick to his belt and then he and Rivers each grabbed one of One’s arms. When they hauled him upright he hung like a dead weight between them. “Right now your boy has a date with a doctor,” Reiss said as they dragged One out of the cell and into the hallway beyond, “but I’m sure someone will bring him back eventually.” The door closed behind them and Three heard the locks snap back into place.

“He’s not my boy,” Three grumbled, pacing nervously near the door of his cell. Well, at least now he knew how the locks worked.


	7. The Infirmary Tango, Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now the second part of this really long chapter.

Six had asked for directions, but he was already lost again. Somehow on his way to the crew quarters he had taken a wrong turn and was instead heading in the general direction of the brig where his former crewmates were currently imprisoned. The next door he opened led to a corridor that looked frustratingly like the last three he’d been down. Six stepped through the door and almost collided with a man coming from a corridor on his right. It took him a moment to recognize the soldier as one of the group who had boarded _The Raza_.

“Sorry about that, man,” Six said, taking a step back. “Hey, you were on the ship earlier, right, and in the brig? What was your name?”

“Ensign Reiss,” Reiss answered trying to hide his impatience. He wanted to get to the brig, get Corso, dump him off with the doctor, and finally, FINALLY, get some R&R. Jones was just another delay in getting to his goal, but Reiss smiled and tried to sound enthusiastically helpful. You never knew when being in a lieutenant’s good graces might come in handy. “How can I help you Lt. Jones?”

“I’m afraid I’m lost. I’m looking for the 10-F crew quarters?”

“Ah that’s easily done, sir.” Reiss continued smiling as he spoke although it never reached his eyes. “Down this way to the next hallway, take a right and follow that hallway to the first left, down that corridor about half-way and the take the lift up to the CQA level, that’s the crew quarters level sir, and then follow the signs to 10-F. You can’t miss it, sir.” 

“Right…” Six said. He had his doubts about the "can't miss it" part.

Reiss sensed a chance to impress, so he continued, “By the way sir, I took that stowaway to the infirmary as you directed. The doctor should be evaluating her now.”

“Oh. Right. Thank you,” Six replied haltingly. He paused, debating his options. Maybe the research into his past could wait at least long enough for him to check on Five. She must be confused and terrified. “Where is this infirmary? I might want to check on her myself.”

“Of course, sir,” Reiss said cheerfully to mask how odd he thought the request. Why would an officer care so much about some random stowaway? “It’s not far. IA-3-C, that’s Infirmary Area 3-C, sir. Down this hallway, then take a left, a right, and then up a level. It’ll be right in front of you then.”

“Yeah. Say, Reiss, is there a map to this place? I think it all might make more sense if I could see some schematics, you know?”

“There’s a terminal on the wall over there, Lt. Jones, “ Reiss answered, somewhat surprised the man hadn’t seen it already. Plus he must have walked past several terminals already, any one of which he could have stopped at. “Just type in your service number and select the map option.”

Shit, thought Six. Of course it would require something he didn’t remember. But he gave Reiss what he hoped was a reassuring smile “Right. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome, sir.” And with that, Reiss finally turned and hurried on his way.

Six waited until the soldier was out of sight before he continued walking in the direction he hoped would take him to the infirmary. Now what had the man said? Was it right or left?

——

Five was sitting cross legged on top of an infirmary exam table while working on a lock picking device for electronic locks. She had created similar devices for _Raza_ crew missions and, if the few memories of her own that she’d dreamed were true, she had made them long before she stowed away on the ship. But she usually had access to better parts - this time she was cannibalizing bits and pieces from a wall-mounted comm and lock system at the back of the infirmary. She hoped that its location would mean it would be a while before anyone realized that the guts of the unit were gone. In a cabinet near the panel she had hidden the handcuffs. She wished she could keep them with her, just in case, but they simply made too much noise for her to successfully hide them in her clothes.

Suddenly she heard the sound of someone trying to enter the locked door of the infirmary. She slipped the device into a pocket and brushed the leftover wires and circuity components into her hand. She heard the person in the hallway curse and begin to loudly punch a code into a keypad. Five dumped the stray components in an open drawer which she quickly closed. She just managed to reassume her cross-legged position on the exam table before the door slid open.

A woman in a doctor’s white coat bustled into the infirmary. “Sorry about that, I had to assist in an emergency appendectomy,” she said in an abrupt and businesslike manner. Spotting Five, the doctor paused a moment before walking over to look her up and down. “I’m Dr. Matthews. Now who are you and why the hell did someone lock you in my infirmary?”

“I was a stowaway on the ship you just…” Five mentally ran through all the words she wanted to say (hijacked, stole, raided) but finally landed on “…seized. A knockout gas was used on the crew and I guess they wanted to make sure I was okay.”

“Indeed? Well that was uncharacteristically charitable of them.” Dr. Matthews’ sarcastic tone was hard to miss. “I wonder which of them had that brainwave? Oh well, doesn’t matter. Lay back and I’ll scan you to make sure all is as it should be."

Five had a moment of panic. What if the scan turned up her lock picking device? But without anywhere to hide the device without being seen, she had no choice but to do as she was told. 

“Okay, just relax. This won’t hurt.” The doctor pulled a small tablet from her coat and began typing into it. A machine attached to the ceiling of the infirmary began to move to position itself over the exam table. “The scan will take a look at your lungs and check for any other wounds or injuries for good measure. It shouldn’t take long,” the doctor added. A line of blue light shone down from the ceiling device and began to move over Five’s feet and up her legs. Five concentrated on trying to stay still.

There was a beeping sound as the door to the infirmary opened and Six walked in. When Five spotted him a series of emotions went through her simultaneously - relief at seeing someone she knew in this strange place, joy at seeing her friend again, and finally anger when she remembered that he was why they were all here. She sat up quickly, sliding off the table and to her feet. “What are YOU doing here?” she asked accusingly. 

Six stopped in the middle of the infirmary and held his hands up toward Five in a peacemaking gesture. “Just hold on, I’m just here to check on you, to make sure you’re okay.”

“Check on me? How do you think I am?” Five began angrily.

“I take it you two know each other?” Dr. Matthews asked with quizzical expression as she turned off the scan. “Who are you?” she asked Six.

“He’s a traitor, that’s who he is.” Five said sullenly, crossing her arms and glaring at Six.

Six cleared his throat and spoke to Dr. Matthews. “Lt. Griffin Jones. Look, I know this probably seems strange to you, but could you leave us alone for just a few minutes? I think your patient and I have a few things to say to each other in private.”

Dr. Matthews raised her eyebrows at this request and then turned to Five. “If you want me to stay, I will. If you want him to leave, I’ll make sure he does so. What do you want?”

Five looked at the doctor with surprise and gratitude. “I’ll talk with him alone…but if you could stay close by, I’d appreciate that.”

The doctor nodded, “I’ll be right outside if you need me.” She gave Six a long, steady look as she walked out of the infirmary and closed the door behind her. Out in the hallway, Dr. Matthews turned on her comm. “Lt. Carmichael, I need an ID check on someone who just walked into IA-3-C. Do you know a Lt. Griffin Jones?”

Back in the infirmary, Five waited until the door closed before she spoke again. “How could you?” she began.

“Just wait, let me explain,” Six tried to say, but Five interrupted him.

“You lied to me. You said I’d be okay…”

“You are okay, I made sure of that,” Six interjected.

“No I’m not! Everyone I know and care about is in jail on this ship. The Galactic Authorities aren’t going to let them go, they may not even let me go! I’ve been gassed, handcuffed, manhandled by a creepy soldier, and finally ended up here, alone and with no idea of what’s going to happen to me or the others!”

“Look, I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you about what I had planned, but please believe me - it had to be done.”

“Why? And why didn’t you tell us you were a soldier? I thought the records said you were a former terrorist and criminal?”

“I don’t know all the facts yet,” Six admitted, “and I still don’t remember my past, but it looks like I was a Galactic Authority soldier operating under deep cover.” 

“So you were a spy.” Five’s voice held all the disgust that she felt about that statement.

“Among thieves and murderers, yeah,” Six said, somewhat put out. “And you can see why! Even without our memories we were a menace.” Five tried to interrupt again but Six continued, “Unintentionally or not, people were dying because of us. It had to stop. I had to stop it…before you were sucked into it too.”

“Are you saying you did this for me?” Five cried out in disbelief. “Well I don’t want it! So let’s go get the others and go back to _The Raza_ , because that’s what I want! I want my family back!” 

“I’m sorry,” Six said sadly, “I can’t do that.”

Five turned away for a moment. Six heard her give a little sob but before he could react Five rushed at him and slammed her fists into his chest. It didn’t hurt so he didn’t try to stop her. She continued to smack him completely ineffectively for a while, but eventually the hits slowed and finally stopped. Then Five laid her head on Six’s chest and cried. 

Six sighed and put his arms around her in a hug. “I know things look bad right now, but it’ll get better. I promise.”

“You promise a lot of things.” Five mumbled quietly as she disentangled herself and walked away with her back to Six. “Get out,” she said and when he didn’t move she yelled, “Dr. Matthews!”

The door slid open immediately and Dr. Matthews was back inside. “I think you’re meant to be in CQA-10-F, Lt. Jones. I can get you a map if you’re lost,” she said coolly. 

“No, I’ll find my way. Thanks,” Six replied, glancing at Five who still had her back to him. He paused a second longer before he turned and walked out of the infirmary.

Once the door closed behind him, Six closed his eyes. Well that went badly. Maybe he should have expected it but he had hoped that Five would understand. Maybe she would eventually if he gave her time. At any rate, she would be safe now and that was what mattered.

In front of Six, a lift opened to reveal two soldiers half-carrying, half-dragging a man between them. Six recognized the man instantly - One.

“Why is he still unconscious?” Six asked Ensign Reiss as he walked towards them; the trio was forced to stop because Six was blocking their way to the infirmary. “The gas should have worn off a long time ago.”

If Reiss was surprised to see Six in front of him again, he didn’t show it. “Oh it did, sir,” Reiss answered. “We were asked to bring Corso here for a genetics scan and he…well, he resisted, sir. It’s regrettable but what can you expect from mercenaries?” 

Six looked at Reiss for a moment as if the man had lost his mind. One would resist if threatened but fighting back on the way to being brought to an infirmary? He quickly moved from disbelief to a controlled anger. Obviously the soldier was lying. “Like hell he did! What did you do to him, Reiss?” Six stepped well into the soldier’s personal space and towered over him. Rivers, holding One’s other arm, straightened up to his full height, but Six ignored him. 

Reiss dropped his veneer of polite deference, but held his ground and glared back at Six. “I’m doing my job…Lieutenant. Now get out of my way and let me get on with it.” 

Six didn’t move. 

Just then Reiss’s comm chimed to signal an incoming message. Without looking away from Six or dropping One’s arm, the soldier put his left hand to his ear to turn on the comm. Lt. Carmichael’s voice crackled through the device, loud enough for all three men to hear, “Reiss? Status report. Have you delivered him yet?”

“Trying to Lieutenant, but Lt. Jones is currently blocking our way. It seems he has some issues with our orders,” Reiss replied coldly.

“Does he, indeed?” Lt. Carmichael did not sound very surprised. “This is the second time I’ve heard news of Lt. Jones in the last few minutes. Please ask the Lieutenant to join me on the bridge. I think the commander and I may have some further questions for him.”

“Understood, Lt. Carmichael.” Reiss clicked off the comm and tilted his head at Six. “You heard the lady.” Six stared him down a second or two longer and then stepped aside. Reiss nodded to Rivers and the two men pushed passed Six, dragging One between them on their way to the infirmary. 

Six sighed. Everything seem to be going wrong all of a sudden. Well, there was nothing for it now but to go back to the bridge and see what would happen next. Six had a distinct impression that whatever it was, he wouldn’t like it.

——

“Are you alright?” Dr. Matthews asked Five.

Five nodded without looking at the woman. Her hands were balled into fists and she shoved them in her pockets.

“Okay,” the doctor said after a pause. “Well why don’t you get up on the exam table and we’ll try this again?” Dr. Matthews walked to a nearby cabinet and opened it. “And why don’t I get something to relax you a bit? You don’t have to take it, but it’ll be here just in case.” She glanced back at Five and when she saw no reaction or movement, the doctor continued getting the sedative ready.

The door to the infirmary beeped and opened again, drawing both of their attentions in that direction. When Five saw Reiss and Rivers dragging One into the room she took a step forward, her eyes large with surprise and worry. 

“What now?” asked Matthews, annoyed.

“One of the mercs. Lt. Carmichael says he’s to have a genetic scan, they want to see if he is who he’s supposed to be…or something,” Reiss replied. “So where do you want ‘em, Doc?” 

Dr. Matthews nodded and pointed across the room, “Oh yes, she mentioned that. Put him over there on that exam table.” She followed after the two soldiers as they moved to comply with her instructions. “And why is he unconscious?”

Reiss grumbled his reply, “Like I told Lt. Jones, Corso resisted.” The two men lifted One and dropped him roughly on the exam table where he lay still.

“Sure he did,” Dr. Matthews quipped, “I may not know this man, but I know you Reiss, you odious little toad.” She waved the sedative shot in his face, the needle hidden under a protective cap. “Now get out. And if I find any unexplained damage on this man, you’re going to have a lot of explaining to do…to the commander.” 

Reiss looked both tired and unimpressed. “Yes, ma’am. On our way.” He and Rivers left the infirmary quickly.

Five walked over to the exam table and studied One nervously. “Is he going to be all right?” she asked the doctor.

“I don’t know,” Matthews answered, placing the sedative on a nearby counter. “Help me turn him over so that I can examine him.” Between them they managed to roll One over on his back. Dr. Matthews pulled her tablet out of her pocket again and began typing; immediately the ceiling scanner moved until it was positioned over the exam table. The doctor typed a few more commands and the blue light began to scan One from his feet to his head. Five took a step back, away from the light and towards the counter. While they waited for the scan to finish, Dr. Matthews turned to a wall control system to adjust the light settings. “Glare,” she said in answer to an unasked question, “Sometimes it’s impossible to read the results with these lights on high.” 

Five smiled uncomfortably and nodded.

“Hmm,” Dr. Matthews said, studying the results on her tablet. “That’s very odd. What’s…” She looked up to find One sitting up on the table and she froze in shock.

One smiled apologetically at her. “You’re right, that man’s a toad. And I’m sorry,” he added as he grabbed her wrists, “you seem nice but we really need to get out of here.”

Dr. Matthews twisted out of One’s grip and, switching the tablet into her left hand, punched One in the face with her right fist. The blow sent One’s head sideways and before he could recover, Matthews was reaching toward her ear to turn on her comm.

“Sorry,” a small voice said behind her. Five grabbed Matthew’s left hand and pressed the sedative to her wrist, injecting the doctor with the drug. Matthews immediately went limp, but Five and One caught her before she could fall. The tablet clattered to the floor.

“Okay,” said One, “so far so good. Is there any way to restrain her?”

“I have the handcuffs they used on me,” Five answered, nodding in the direction of the cabinet where she’d stashed them.

“Great. Help me lay her down. Then we’ll need to handcuff her and put her somewhere out of the way.” Once they had her safely on the floor, One pulled the comm out of the doctor’s ear and put it in his own. “Are you all right?” he asked Five, glancing up at her as he rubbed his sore jaw.

“I’m as okay as I can be, given what’s going on. But what about you? What’d they do to you?”

“It was those damn shock sticks again, but I’m okay. I was faking most of the way up here. Three’s still down in the brig but I’ve not seen Two or Four.”

Five had return with the handcuffs and was putting them on the doctor. “I’ve seen Two, she’s near where they took the rest of you…but in some sort of isolation cell or something.”

“Makes sense. And we know were Six is…” Five and One exchanged a look. “Yeah, I know,” said One, “but we don’t have time to talk about that now. Wait until we’re back on the ship and away from here.” Five nodded in agreement.

“Too bad the Android isn’t here,” One said while searching the infirmary cabinets for anything that might be useful in their escape. “But with the neural chip still missing she couldn’t help even if she were here,” he added.

“Oh, I have the chip.” Five pulled it out of her pocket to show him. “I felt it in Six’s pocket when he hugged me, so I took it.” Her voice was steady but she didn’t look at One as she spoke.

One looked at her, stunned, and then laughed, “Did I not say you were the bravest person on the ship? Well add to that the most brilliant!” He nodded at Dr. Matthews, “I’ll move her if you’ll see if you can use that tablet to find out where we are in relationship to the brig and _The Raza_.”

“I’m on it,” Five answered. Finally things were starting to go their way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The second half of this chapter is nearly three times as long as the first part. That's part of the reason why it took longer than usual to write, but I also had issues working out some of the logistics of what needed to happen. It isn't my favorite bit of writing, but given that I've been dreading this part for a while, I'm just very, very glad it's done.


	8. Smith and Diablo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So what about the mystery ship?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is a short interlude compared to some of the other chapters and it features OCs only (sorry about that, has to be done at some point). Hopefully you'll like it anyway.

Out beyond the sensor range of the Galactic Authority destroyer, another ship drifted. _The Diablo_ couldn’t match the _Aegeus_ for firepower and it was certainly the smaller ship, but its owners had invested what resources they had into improving its sensors beyond the typical range for a spaceship its size. 

Inside the _Diablo’s_ bridge, two of the crew sat in companionable silence as they waited for sensor data to be received and interpreted by the ship’s computer.

“So what’s it doing now?” Ardella Smith kicked back in her console chair and put her feet up on the ship’s main control panel. Somehow she managed to not accidentally trigger any controls despite the casual way she treated them. 

Lassiter Haig studied the information coming back from their long-range sensors. “Nothin’ as far as I can see, but it’s still docked with the smaller ship.”

“Isn’t that against protocol for the Galactic Authority? Normally they send a shuttle over rather than docking directly.” Smith kicked off from the console and swiveled her chair around so that she could look at Lassiter.

“It is against protocol, unless things have changed since my days with the GA.” He began comparing the incoming data with information from _The Diablo’s_ databanks. “Maybe somebody was in a rush…or just lazy?”

“A lazy GA commander?” Smith chuckled, amused by the thought, “We couldn’t get so lucky. Any IDs on the ships yet?”

Lassiter rolled his eyes and grumbled, “Yes, I’m working on that! But it would go so much more quickly if I didn’t have to also entertain you…Captain.” 

Smith grinned at that, she loved giving Haig a hard time. “Do you need some help? I seem to recall you used to be much quicker at this…”

“Yes, yes, that’s very funny. The comparisons to the ships on file are coming in now. The destroyer looks like a match to…the _Galactic Authority Destroyer Aegeus_.” Lassiter sat back and ran his hands through his hair. “That’s Commander Ikari’s ship.”

“Do we know him?” Smith stood from her chair and stretched, then moved to stand behind him so she could see the results for herself.

“I can’t speak for you or the rest of the crew, but I’ve never had the pleasure. He has a reputation as a good officer…I doubt it’s laziness or laxness with the rules and regs then.”

Smith shrugged, “Doesn’t matter really. What about the other ship? That’s the one I’m actually interested in.”

“Hmmmm….looks like…well, the computer says there’s an 89% chance that it’s a ship called _The Raza_.”

Smith smiled a slow grin. “Really? Oh goodie.”

“Do we know it then?” Lassiter leaned back in his chair to look up at her.

“Where have you been?” She asked sarcastically. “ _The Raza_ is infamous - theft, piracy, and recently some intimidation and annihilation work for some of the galactic combines. It’d be a nice addition to the fleet.”

“Yeah but the GA have it now. What’re you gonna do, ask them nicely to hand it over?”

Smith glared indignantly at him for that suggestion. “What’s the point of being a pirate if you can’t steal a ship from the forces of law and order?”

“Getting rich and staying not dead?” Lassiter suggested hopefully. 

“Yes, that too. But getting a fast ship with a reputation could help with both of those things.” Smith’s manner shifted quickly from banter to business. “Send a message to base, let them know what we’ve found. Ask for support, two ships should do it. If we do this quickly while the destroyer is still docked, she won’t be able to maneuver. They’ll have to decouple in order to evade any incoming attacks, which is when we can move on _The Raza_.” Lassiter began following her orders but she stopped him. “But first, see if you can send in a drone. If we can sneak it past their sensors and have it attach to _The Raza_ , we can initiate a takeover of her FTL guidance systems…send her wherever we want outside GA jurisdiction and pick her up there.”

“Yeah, but how are we gonna get a drone past their sensors?”

“Use the thrusters to get it just outside their sensor range and aim it at _The Raza_. Then shut down the power and let it drift. They’ll think it’s just a piece of space junk.”

“It’ll take it forever to get there…” 

Smith nodded, “Yes, I know. I just want to give it a head start. Once backup arrives we’ll turn on the thrusters again. The GA will be far too busy with all of us and trying to get clear of _The Raza_ to worry about the drone then.”

“Assuming base agrees to sending support.”

Smith grinned. “Oh they will. Just make sure that you tell them first off the name of the ship we’re going after.” 


	9. An Offer

Commander Ikari was reviewing his ship’s systems reports when the subspace transmission came in to the bridge.

“Sir,” the voice of Lt. Carmichael in his comm broke through the commander’s intense concentration, “there’s a call for you. The caller says it’s a personal, for your ears only.”

Ikari felt his chest tighten with apprehension. His father had been ill for some time and he had been dreading getting word from his family or GA Command that his father had died. Ikari had been been taking the _Aegeus_ to its home base in the hopes of returning home before that happened, but then they received the call from _The Raza_ and had changed course. When they arrived on site, he decided to risk a direct dock with the smaller vessel to speed the process of getting _The Raza_ and her crew ready for transport. Given the fact that the crew was already subdued, the commander had estimated that the stopover would be brief, but the FTL issues on the _Aegeus_ and the lockout on some of _The Raza's_ systems had set his timetables back. Nothing, it seemed, was going to plan. 

“I’ll take it in the operations room,” Commander Ikari replied tersely. He quickly walked down the corridor and entered a nearby room which held much of the _Aegeus’_ communications and sensor equipment. The communications officers who were minding the stations were in the process of leaving even as he walked in. “Give me a few minutes,” he told them as they passed, “I’ll make sure Lt. Carmichael contacts you when it’s time to come back to your stations.”

Closing and locking the door behind them, he turned to the main communications panel. He took a deep breath to steady himself and then pressed a series of buttons required to view the transmission. A man a dark blue suit appeared on the screen. He had brown hair and closely trimmed facial hair. Ikari didn’t recognize him, but he could tell that the man was definitely a civilian.

The stranger smiled broadly in a way that was no doubt meant to be friendly, but came across as as vaguely patronizing. “Ah, Commander Ikari. I’m so sorry to bother you - I know you’re busy. You may not remember me but we met at a Ferrous Corp event a few years ago. My name is Alexander Rook, owner of Dwarf Star Technologies.”

Ikari was momentarily stunned into silence but he quickly recovered. “What is this about Mr. Rook? My crew is in the middle of a time-sensitive operation. I do not have time for a social call.”

“I’m sure you don’t, Commander. I hear that you have apprehended the crew of _The Raza_. Congratulations on that…”

Ikari interrupted Rook before he could continue, “How did you come by this information? In-progress missions are classified.”

“That’s not important, Commander,” Rook replied dismissively.

“I am quite sure that it is, Mr. Rook.” Ikari crossed his arms over his chest as he spoke.

Rook’s mask of polite confidence slipped briefly as he glared at Ikari with haughty impatience. Collecting himself, he continued calmly, “I believe that the crew of _The Raza_ have stolen sensitive information about several of Dwarf Star’s product prototypes. I would very much like to have a chance to find out what they know and what they may have taken before they do serious damage to our initiatives.”

“I’m sure you would, but I fail to see…”

“As you may or may not know, Commander,” Rook interrupted, “Dwarf Star has contracts with the Galactic Authority to develop many potentially life-saving technologies, several of which may have been compromised by these thieves. It is in everyone’s best interest if the issue is resolved quickly and, luckily, my labs are located near your current position. Certainly closer than any of the Galactic Authority bases that you may have intended to head for.”

“That is not protocol,” Ikari said quickly. He was beginning to lose his patience.

“Neither I believe, if you will forgive me for pointing it out, is docking a destroyer directly to an enemy ship.” Rook sounded very smug as he said this, as if he had caught the commander at something untoward. “But as you say, this is a time-sensitive mission. Would it not then make more sense to come to our labs, drop off the crew of _The Raza_ ,” Ikari scoffed at this and Rook held up his hand in a calming gesture, “just long enough for us to question them? You could leave a small contingent of soldiers with them and then go on your way. Once we ascertain what initiatives they may have compromised, we will of course send the criminals and your soldiers on to whatever location you wish at our own expense.” 

Ikari shook his head and gave a mirthless chuckle, “No, that does not make sense, Mr. Rook. And while this has been an interesting conversation, I have work to get back to.” He moved to disengage the call.

“I was sorry to hear that your father has been unwell,” Rook said slowly, not looking at the commander as he spoke. “It must be difficult to work missions like this knowing that every moment you spend makes it more likely that you may never see him alive again. Why not take advantage of my offer? Wouldn’t your time be better spent with your family rather than handling the mundane tasks needed to process and deliver a crew of criminals? Let us handle it for you and we will ensure that they are delivered to the appropriate authorities without taking up your valuable time.”

Commander Ikari looked at Rook coldly. “This conversation is over,” he said and quickly cut off the call before the other man could speak again.

——

Ensign Reiss had just entered to his quarters when a light started blinking on his computer terminal. It indicated an incoming call, but normally such communications would be routed from the operations room, to the bridge, and then an alert would come through the comm system to let crew members known that they had a call. Confused, he entered his service number to disengage the computer’s security and then he typed a series of commands to accept the transmission.

A bearded stranger in a blue suit appeared on the screen. Before Reiss could even get out a question, the man spoke in a cool, clipped tone. “Ensign Reiss. Listen closely because I don’t have time to repeat myself. You owe debts. Many, many debts to several dangerous people who do not have a great deal of patience. No doubt you thought that joining the Galactic Authority would put these people off your scent, but I’m sorry to inform you that you were wrong.”

Reiss sat down heavily on the chair in front of the computer and the stranger continued, “In fact, several of these rather dangerous individuals will be waiting for you when your ship docks to…well, cause you a great deal of pain until you agree to pay up.”

“But I don’t have the money!” Reiss sputtered, finally finding his voice, “I will, but I don’t right now. I need more time!”

“I’m afraid there is no more time for you, Ensign Reiss, but luckily I have a solution for your dilemma. Your ship has recently arrested a crew of thieves and murderers. I need for those individuals to never make it to a GA station or, indeed, to any other location. If you make that happen I will ensure that your debts are paid. You will have nothing else to fear. What do you say?”

“How could I possibly pull that off? And who are you? How do I know that, even if I could make that happen, that you’d keep your word?”

“Who I am is not important, Ensign, but as for assurances that I can deliver on my promises - that is easily done. I will transfer half of what you owe into your accounts once you agree to do as I ask. The other half will be delivered once the task is completed. And as for how - they are criminals, are they not? It would not be surprising if they were killed escaping, would it?”

Reiss worried his lip with his teeth as he considered the offer. “Would they all have to die? One of them is a GA undercover officer.”

The stranger in the blue suit paused a moment as if that information came as a surprise. “Yes, all of the crew of _The Raza_ must be disposed of. Will that be a problem? Do we have an agreement, Ensign Reiss?”

Reiss remembered his last confrontation with Six and smiled. “No, no that won’t be a problem at all. Send the money and I’ll see that they never make it to the station alive.”


	10. Discoveries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One and Five are back, and Six starts having to deal with the consequences of his actions.

“So? What are our options?” One asked.

“There’s a laundry room a few doors down from here. If we could get there without anyone seeing us maybe we could steal some uniforms,” Five began quietly while scanning through ship’s schematics. 

“And then use them to get to the brig without being stopped, good idea,” One replied, finishing her sentence. “But without weapons we’re going to have a hard time getting the others out. Even with them it might be difficult, I mean we’re two people on a ship full of armed Galactic Authority soldiers who all know this place better than we do.” He began to pace. “If we try to threaten them, all they have to do is keep us pinned down long enough for reinforcements to arrive and then overwhelm us.” One shrugged as he continued to pace, “We could shoot them, but the noise would probably draw in reinforcements, and that’s assuming we even managed to hit them.”

Five looked up, indignant, “I know how to shoot a gun. I’ve shot someone before, I can manage.” She wasn’t proud of killing someone, but she was glad to finally be able to help defend herself and her friends. 

“So have I,” One turned to look at her, “but we’re not soldiers. They’re trained and we’re not. No, if this comes down to a gun battle, us verses them, we’re done. This whole thing only works if we can get in, free the others without calling attention to ourselves, and then get to _The Raza_ before anyone knows what’s going on.” One noticed that Five was no longer looking at a map of the ship on the tablet. Instead, she seemed to be searching through videos feeds. “What are you looking for now?”

“Four,” Five said, not looking up. “If you’ve seen Three and I’ve seen Two, then he’s the only one we don’t know about yet. So I’m looking for surveillance video of them bringing us on board to find out where they’re keeping him.” She stopped on a feed showing an airlock. She typed in a few commands and began running the footage. Five and One watched the boarding team from the _Aegeus_ leave through airlock and then Five advanced the video until she saw some of the same soldiers reentering the ship carrying the unconscious crew of _The Raza_. 

One watched himself and Two being carried onto the ship and felt both relieved and anxious. He trusted Five when she said she’d seen Two, but seeing her for himself was a welcome confirmation that she was still alive. He wasn’t sure where things stood between them and he was trying not to focus on that until they were all safely on _The Raza_ and away from the GA, but seeing her also called to mind their last conversation. How could anything good come out of that even if they managed to escape? In the surveillance footage, soldiers stepped through the airlock carrying Three, Four, and Five. Then another pair of soldiers entered carrying…

“The Android?” Five and One said at the same time, leaning in to stare at the screen.

“I wondered why he still had her chip in his pocket,” Five said as they watched the group of soldiers continue down the corridor followed by Six. “But why would they bring her on board?”

“Doesn’t matter - this could be the break we need.” One began pacing excitedly now. “See if you can find out where they put the Android. We’ll head there after we get some uniforms.” He looked around nervously. “And do it quickly because we need to get out of here fast. Any minute someone could come to check on us, or the doctor, and then we’d be screwed.” 

Five nodded her agreement and began trying to locate the surveillance footage they needed. 

——

As soon as Commander Ikari had cut off communication with Alexander Rook, a call came in to his comm. He touched the device quickly to receive the message.

“I’m sorry to bother you, Commander, but could you come to the bridge?” Lt. Carmichael’s voice would have sound coolly professional to almost anyone else, but Ikari had worked with her for some time and could hear an undercurrent of frustration in her tone. “We have a potential situation with Lt. Jones and I think you may want to be part of that conversation.”

“Understood,” he replied, “I’m on my way now.”

By the time he arrived on the bridge, Carmichael was already involved in an animated conversation with Lt. Jones. He couldn’t hear what she said, but he caught Six’s reply.

“I don’t have a problem with Corso being brought in for a genetics scan, hell I’m the one who suggested it in the first place! I’m questioning the way your soldiers handled him on the way there.”

“They said he resisted…” Carmichael began.

“Yeah, they told me that, but I don’t buy it,” Six interrupted her. “I’ve been on the same ship with that man for months and there’s no way he resisted or attacked anybody unless he was provoked first.”

“None of which answers my original question, Lieutenant,” Carmichael continued, mostly succeeding in maintaining her calm expression. However, her irritation showed in her eyes - she hated being interrupted. “Why were you in the area of the infirmary in the first place? The Commander sent you to the crew quarters, but you were seen near the brig and not long after that you got into an argument with the stowaway from _The Raza_ in the infirmary. Neither place is located anywhere near where you were supposed to be!” 

Six looked a bit embarrassed. “Yeah, well I got lost…”

It was Carmichael who interrupted him now, “It’s very convenient that you keep getting lost and finding yourself ‘accidentally’ in the vicinity of the crew of _The Raza_. And now you’re taking the part of a known criminal over the word of your fellow soldiers?” She took a step closer to him, but Six stood his ground. “How close did you get to these mercenaries while you were undercover?”

“What’s that supposed to mean,” Six asked, narrowing his eyes.

“It means that I’m beginning to wonder if you remember who you actually work for, Lt. Jones” Carmichael replied, resting her hands on her hips as she studied Six closely.

Commander Ikari cleared his throat and both Carmichael and Six startled slightly. They had been so wrapped up in the argument that neither of them had heard him approach.

Carmichael recovered from her surprise first, “Commander! Do you want me to fill you in on the situation, sir?”

“I think I have the gist of it, thank you Lieutenant.” Ikari approached the pair and turned to look at Six. “She has raised some very valid questions, Lt. Jones. Questions that deserve answers. So here is your chance to explain yourself - what do you have to say?”

Well, strictly speaking, I don’t remember who I work for, Six thought ruefully. But it’s probably better if I don’t tell either of you that or this situation could get even worse. Out loud he said, “I got lost on my way to the crew quarters, sir. I ran into Ensign Reiss and I asked him for directions. While we were talking, he mentioned that he had taken the stowaway to the infirmary. I was worried about her condition, so I stopped by to check on her.” He turned to looked at Carmichael, addressing his next statement to her, “She’s just a kid, not a criminal. Anyone with a conscience would have been concerned about her.”

“And Corso?” Ikari asked.

Six sighed. “His actions don’t match Jace Corso’s rep. I don’t know why he’s claiming to be Corso and I don’t know how he came to look like him. But if he isn’t him then he doesn’t deserved to be treated like him.” Six looked the Commander in the eyes and held his gaze. “I just don’t like seeing anyone punished for things they didn’t do, sir. Plus, there’s no justification for mistreating prisoners once they’re in custody.”

“I see,” replied Commander Ikari. It all sounded plausible but still, something about Jones’ manner struck him as odd. Ikari turned to Carmichael, “Anything else, Lieutenant?”

“Yes sir,” she answered, “the techs haven’t been able to find the neural chip for _The Raza’s_ android. I wondered if perhaps Lt. Jones knew its location.”

“Oh…yeah!” Six exclaimed, surprised. So much had happened since he’d taken it that he’d forgotten all about the chip. “Right, that. I have it here…” He began searching his pockets, but found them to be empty. “Wait, I’m sure I had it.” Noticing the looks of doubt on both the commander’s and lieutenant’s faces, he tried to reassure them, “No, really. I’m sure I had it. Maybe I dropped it somewhere…” He tried to think back to when he last knew he had the chip. He remember feeling it in his pocket before he got to the infirmary. Then realization hit him - Five and the hug! She must have taken it, meaning that she was probably planning on trying to free the others. He had to stop her before she got hurt.

While Six didn’t voice any of his thoughts something must have shown on his face, because Commander Ikari’s expression changed from cautious but open to discussion, to cold and businesslike. He turned to address his junior officer. “Lieutenant Carmichael, please escort Lt. Jones to his quarters so that he doesn’t get lost again. When you get there, enlist a few guards to assist the lieutenant in a thorough search of his clothing to see if they can locate the chip. Afterwards, station a guard on the door of his quarters until we reach the station, just to make sure that he doesn’t find himself in any more awkward situations that he can’t fully explain.” 

“But sir…” Six began, trying to further plead his case. Just then, alerts and alarms went off on all of the _Aegeus’_ systems. 

“Sir,” a soldier manning the controls called out, “we have a ship inbound! They’re firing!” 

“Shields?” yelled Ikari. “Time to impact?”

“The shields are up but impact is imminent…” Before the soldier could finish speaking the ship was rocked by the blast of a nearby explosion. “No damage sir.”

“Who are they? Where did they come from?” Ikari questioned, walking quickly to the controls to study the readings himself.

“They just came out of nowhere, sir,” answered the soldier. 

“It’s a small ship. They probably aren’t much of a threat, given our greater firepower and shields,” Carmichael had joined the commander at the main console, assessing the situation as she spoke. “But our maneuverability is severely limited given that we’re still docked to the merc’s ship.” 

Ikari grumbled curses under his breath. “Carmichael, tell the techs to wrap it up. I want that ship decoupled and on its way ASAP. As for you, Lt. Jones,” he said, turning to look at where Six had been standing. But to his surprise, Six was no longer there. In fact, he was no longer anywhere on the bridge. 

“Damnit! Carmichael, find someone to track down Jones! I don’t want him running around the ship, particularly not now.” A buzzing alarm sounded, indicating an incoming message. 

“It’s the enemy ship, Commander,” announced the soldier at the main controls.

“Put them through!” Ikari ordered.

The subspace signal display on the main communication panel switched off. But instead of being replaced by an image, as expected, the screen only showed blackness. The other ship was not sending video, only sound.

“Hello, Commander Ikari!” The female voice coming through the transmission was mockingly cheerful. “I hope you’re having a pleasant time in our neck of the galactic woods. You and your crew are a looooong way from home.” 

“Who is this? Identify yourself!” Ikari demanded sternly.

“You may call me Smith, Commander, and I’m here to relieve you of a few items that aren’t really even yours anyway. Consider it borrowing or liberating, if you will…you know, a Robin Hood kind of thing.”

“I don’t think your ship is equipped to take anything from us, Ms. Smith,” Ikari replied. “Now stand down and prepare to be boarded.”

“Oh I think you’ve done all the boarding today that you’re going to do, Commander.” Ardella Smith’s voice contained a mixture of amusement and scornful gloating. “And who said that my ship was going to do anything alone?”

“Two more ships are dropping out of FTL, sir!” reported a soldier standing near the commander. 

“Let me introduce you to some friends of mine.” Smith laughed as she spoke, “Or better yet, let’s skip the introductions and just get on with it. What do you say?”


	11. Jail Break!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's about damn time, isn't it?

“Stop fiddling with it, you look fine!”

“It’s too big. And my hair won’t stay in the hat.” Five nervously brushed her fingers across her hairline. In reality, all of her teal hair was covered with a GA technician’s cap and while the tech uniform was baggy, she had managed to roll, tuck, and hide the excess so that a casual observer wouldn’t notice anything unusual. “And there’s something like grease all over the sleeves.” She pulled at the stains and wrinkled her nose in disgust.

“Consider it camouflage.”

“Easy for you to say. I still think I should have had a soldier’s uniform.”

“If there had been one that would even remotely fit you that would have been great, but I guess there’s not many five foot tall Galactic Authority soldiers," One said. Their forage in the laundry room had turned out more successfully for him and he was now dressed in a full GA uniform. "Besides, there may be places we need to get into where a tech would blend in better than a soldier.”

“Five feet, two inches,” Five muttered under her breath as they walked down a corridor heading towards the brig. They had a general sense of where the Android was being kept based on what she had pieced together from various security cameras scattered throughout the _Aegeus_. Five glanced up periodically looking for the cameras. The feeling of being watched was making an already tense situation almost unbearable. “What do we do if someone stops us, asks us what we’re doing?”

“Let me do the talking. If you see an opening to keep on walking, do it. We need to make sure that at least one of us gets through to the others.”

“What are you going to tell them?” Five turned her attention to One, trying to read his body language as much as his face.

“I have no idea.” One admitted reluctantly. “Play it by ear and try to bluff them, I guess.” Five’s expression clearly showed how well she thought that plan wouldn’t go and One couldn’t help but chuckle in response. “Yeah, yeah, I know. But it could be worse…Three could be here.”

If Five had any opinions about that, she kept them to herself.

When they came to a section where two corridors met, One paused briefly to glance in both directions. Seeing no one, he looked to Five for directions. She checked the borrowed tablet and nodded to the right, before heading in that direction. One followed after her. 

“It’s a bit odd,” he said after a while, “that we’ve hardly seen anyone. Not that I’m complaining, but I can’t help but wonder where everyone is?”

“We’re here,” Five said, stopping in front of a door and showing no sign that she’d heard his question. She tried to open the door but, finding it locked, she held her lock picking device up to door sensor. There were several long moments of silence during which both of them held their breaths, hoping that something would happen. Finally the lock beeped quietly and the door slid open. They quickly stepped inside the dimly lit storage room and One turned to shut the door behind them. Turning back around, he nearly bumped into Five who was standing directly behind him with a stunned look on her face. Looking over her head, One gasped in surprise.

In front of them, guns, stun sticks, and an assortment of other weaponry were hanging in orderly rows on wall units, while boxes of ammunition, gas grenades, and other equipment were stacked neatly on shelving.

“Wow. I guess we found the armory. Where’s the Android?” 

After searching for a few moments they found her leaning against the wall at the back of the armory. Between them they managed to maneuver her to the floor. Knelling beside her, Five pulled the neural chip out of her pocket and held it against the Android’s neck. Immediately a slot opened and Five slipped the chip inside. Nothing happened for a few seconds. Suddenly the Android sat upright so quickly that it started both One and Five. 

“Where am I? What is happening?”

“Are you alright?” asked Five nervously as she gently touched her shoulder.

“I am operational but I do not understand why I am no longer on the ship. The last thing I remember…”

“Was Six,” interjected One hurriedly, “Yes, we know - he betrayed us. We’re on a GA ship. We need to get the others out of custody and get to _The Raza_ before this situation gets any worse. Can you sense the ship still?” As he spoke, One stood and walked over to the shelving units. He grabbed two gun clips and selected two guns from the wall unit. Assembling them with a quick motion he slipped them into a gun belt that he then fastened around himself. 

The Android closed her eyes briefly. “Yes, but I am currently locked out of _The Raza’s_ main systems. It appears that someone is in the process of reprogramming the FTL guidance systems.”

“But it’s still docked with this ship?” questioned One.

“Most certainly. At least, for the moment,” replied the Android.

“Good.” One walked over to a stack of helmets and body armor. He picked up a helmet and slipped it over his head. “Now we just have to find the others.”

——

It had taken Ensign Reiss some time to rig the _Aegeus’_ internal surveillance system. He finally manage to set up a rolling series of outages that would look like random electrical shorts. Starting from the hallways near the IA-3-C and moving toward the brig, the shorts would disable the cameras in each section in turn. The cameras in the brig where the crew of _The Raza_ were being kept would be the last to go, which would hopefully give him time to get down there unobserved and unrecorded.

Clearing the corridors around the brig was more difficult. Due to the repairs to the _Aegeus’_ FTL drive and the work being done in _The Raza_ , most of the ship’s techs were already occupied, but the soldiers were a thornier problem. Eventually he landed on the idea of feeding false data into the ship-wide alert system so that it would register a fictitious fight in a mess hall some distance away. He hoped that would pull at least some of the soldiers out to the brig area long enough for him to get in and kill the crew with as few witnesses as possible.

Once everything was set in motion, Reiss began walking down the hallway towards the brig. Suddenly an explosion shook the ship, nearly knocking him over, and alarms started blaring around him. Just then a message came in to his comm.

“Reiss? Carmichael. The ship is under attack and Jones has gone missing. I need you to find him as quickly as possible. Do you copy?”

Reiss grinned wickedly and pressed his finger to the comm to answer. “Yes Lieutenant. I copy that just fine.”

——

Two spent some time listening to the sounds of the ship, trying to gauge the best time to try to escape. She couldn’t hear much, other than the muted sounds of talking or laughter as people walked by the isolation cell where she was being kept. She watched the steady glow of the camera’s red light with growing annoyance. It was frustrating knowing that her time was running out, but if she failed she would be consigning her crew to imprisonment or worse. She would only get one shot at this. She had to be sure she was ready.

After an extended period of silence, she finally resolved to break out of her chains, whatever the consequences. Then she heard a quiet beep. The door to the isolation cell slid open, silhouetting a single Galactic Authority soldier dressed in full combat gear and helmet. The soldier held a gun out in front of him as he walked into the room.

“Is this where I’m supposed to say ‘Aren’t you a little short for a stormtrooper?’” asked Two with a sarcastic smile. 

“Huh?” questioned the soldier. The voice was definitely male but muffled by the helmet.

Just to the soldier’s left, the red light of the camera blinked off. I see, thought Two, you don’t want any recording of what you’re about to do next. Well, that suits me fine. 

She yanked at the manacles that chained her to the wall and they broke instantly. Before the soldier could react, she kicked him in the stomach and, as he doubled over in pain, she disarmed him. Yanking him upright, Two held the gun to his head. “Tell me where my crew is!” she ordered with quiet intensity.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! It’s me! It’s One.” One gasped out at last. “This is supposed to be a rescue, so how about you don’t shoot me?

“One?” Two let him go immediately and One sank back against the wall in relief. “How did you get here? Where are the others?”

“It’s a long story and we don’t have time for it now. Short version: Five and the Android are heading to free Three and Four and then they’re all going to meet us at the ship. We need to get to _The Raza_ before the GA decides to leave.” An explosion rocked the ship. “Oh and evidently this ship is under attack.”

Two looked at him for a moment. She wanted to ask if she’d hurt him, to apologize if she had. But there was no time for that now. “Right,” she said briskly, “lead the way.”

——

In his cell, Three was still singing at the top of his lungs. He’d move on from drinking songs to songs that disparaged the Galactic Authority in the most insulting and colorful ways possible. Leaning against the bars of the cell, he stared with intense concentration at the door to the brig. He wondered how long it would take for the soldiers waiting outside to finally reach a breaking point and come in to shut him up.

It took longer than he'd guessed, but finally the door to the brig clanked open and Ensign Rivers stepped inside. The tall man held a shock stick in his left hand, which twitched slightly as he walked toward Three’s cell. The soldier looked thoroughly annoyed.

“Hi there Tiny!” Three quipped cheerfully. He took a few steps to his right but resumed leaning against the bars, watching the guard closely. “Don’t tell me I’m botherin’ you.” Three moved his hands so that they splayed between to bars and waited, bracing for what was going to come next. He knew that it was probably going to hurt a lot.

Rivers regarded Three through narrowed eyes. Suddenly he jabbed at Three with the shock stick, the electrical current fully engaged. Three anticipated his reaction and reach through the bars of his cell; one hand grabbed the base of the shock stick, while with the other held the guard by his uniform, pulling him against the bars. The shock stick grazed across the metal bars, sending the electrical current up into both men. Three gritted his teeth as he yelled out in pain and heard the soldier cry out as well. Rivers’ grip on the shock stick slipped and Three grabbed it as it fell. He turned it quickly, slipping his fingers over the button that turned it on, and then jab it against the exposed skin around the soldier’s neck. Rivers yelled in pain again and collapsed on the floor of the brig. Without pausing or looking at the other man, Three turned the shock stick around in his hands and pressed it against the door sensor. Gritting his teeth again, he engaged the electricity and held it in place. There was a buzzing and popping sound as the electric lock overloaded. Three quickly pulled his arms back inside the cell a second before the door slid open. 

Stepping out of the cell, Three looked from the shock stick to the floor where Rivers was beginning to show signs of recovering. “Sucks being on the wrong end of this, doesn’t it?” he asked, not really expecting an answer. “Maybe you should think about that next time.” Casually stepping over to the soldier, Three pressed the stick to the man’s neck and engaged it again. He watched dispassionately as the soldier twitched spasmodically and lay still, unconscious.

He was in the process of stripping Rivers of his guns when he heard a commotion outside of the brig. From a knelling position, Three grabbed a pistol in each hand and just managed to bring them into line with the door when it banged open. After a pause, the Android stepped through, followed closely by Five.

“What the hell?” Three asked, astonished.

“I believe this is what is termed a jail break,” replied the Android in her typical monotone. 

“You’re a bit late, Robot, I’ve already broken myself out.” Three slipped both of the guns into the holsters on his thighs and began checking Rivers for anything else that might be useful.

“Perhaps. But I have rendered the other soldiers unconscious. There were quite a few of them but they are no longer a threat.” The Android’s clipped tones still managed to convey how disgruntled she was at being under appreciated.

“Well, good for you,” Three said without looking up.

“We have to go,” Five said nervously as she watched what he was doing. “We’re supposed to meet One and Two at the ship. Where’s Four,” she asked, looking around.

“Here,” said a voice from the far end of the brig and they all turned to look. They could see Four’s arm extended through the space between the bars of the very last cell.

“How long have you been there?” asked Three as he stood up. Five began to move past him but he stopped her. “Here, kid,” Three said, tossing her the shock stick. “A couple of seconds on the sensor will pop the lock.”

Five was both impressed that he’d figured that out and somewhat surprise that he trusted her to handle it. She grinned up at him and hurried to the end of the hallway to free Four.

“I have been here for quite some time,” came Four’s reply as the door to his cell opened.

“Well why the hell didn’t you say anything?” Three said as he and the Android walked down to join them.

“Because it would have served no purpose to have done so,” said Four. He looked pointedly at Three’s guns until Three grudgingly handed one over to him.

“We should hurry,” interjected the Android, “This ship will disengage from _The Raza_ at any moment. If that happens before we are onboard, we will be trapped here.” 

“Best get a move on then,” Three said as he twirled his remaining gun. “Let’s go take our ship back.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last two chapters, which I think were more functional than enjoyable, were laying the groundwork for this one, so hopefully folks will like it. It includes a bit for Two that I’ve known I was going to write pretty much since Chapter 3 (and which I like mainly because the idea of it makes me laugh) and a bit for Three that I’ve been sitting on since Chapter 6.
> 
> So if nothing else it's good to get this out of my head and in print (type, whatever) finally.


	12. Fight or Flight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a few months of writer's block, let's catch up with the escaping crew of The Raza and their estranged shipmate.

Six walked hurriedly through the corridors of the _Aegeus_ on his way back to the infirmary. His instincts were screaming at him to run, but that would just draw attention that he didn’t need. Instead he tried to focus on his next steps - check the infirmary and if Five wasn’t there, then head to the brig. He wasn’t sure what he would do if she had actually freed one or more of _The Raza’s_ crew or worse, if she’d been hurt in such an attempt. He’d feel better with a weapon but he was sure that wouldn’t go over well with the GA soldiers on the ship. He assumed that the commander would send someone (or several someones) after him once his absence was noted, he only hoped that with the attack on the _Aegeus_ it would take them a while to miss him.

He rounded the corner and ran into a soldier going in the opposite direction. The impact knocked the smaller soldier down, and even Six had to stagger back a few steps in order to regain his balance. “Hey, sorry,” Six began, extending a hand to help the soldier up. He froze in place when he realized that he recognized the man on the floor.

For a brief moment Ensign Reiss’ face was mask of shear rage. “What the fu—“ he cursed as he looked up to see who had knocked him down. He instantly recognized Six and his expression quickly changed to a wide, friendly grin. “Lieutenant Jones!” Reiss said as he reached for Six’s hand, “Funny running into you again.”

Six pulled the soldier to his feet with much less enthusiasm. “Yeah, funny is one word for it,” he muttered. Once Reiss was standing again, Six started backing away. He really didn’t like the man and he didn’t have time for small talk, so there was no need to be too polite. “Sorry again. ‘Fraid I can’t stay to chat, I’ve got to…”

“Check on Corso and the girl?” Reiss asked innocently. “No need to go back to the infirmary - I was just there and didn’t see them. Someone must have taken them back to the brig.”

“Really?” Six said slowly, narrowing his eyes slightly. “Guess I better head there too?” He smiled somewhat stiffly and continued to back away.

“Oh it’s this way, sir.” Reiss interjected helpfully, pointing in the way he had been running. “I’m going there myself, so I’ll be glad to show you the way. I know how easy it is to get lost on this ship.”

Six weighed his options: he could refuse to follow the soldier but that could raise suspicions. Given Reiss’ previous behavior, this could be an attempt to lure him to a distant part of the ship for a beatdown. But even that could work to his benefit if the odds weren’t too bad and if he could swipe a gun in the process. Six sighed - as Four would say it was a lot of ifs, but he couldn’t come up with any better options. 

Six nodded at Reiss, “Alright. Let’s go.”

———

One and Two ran down an empty corridor, only slowing to a stop when it dead-ended in an intersection with another hallway. One checked Five’s tablet to see where they were in relation to the airlock that connected the _Aegeus_ with _The Raza_. 

“It’s this way,” he nodding to his right as he tucked the tablet back into his stolen Galactic Authority uniform. “The hatch should at the end of the hallway.”

“It is,” Two said as she glanced cautiously around the corner. “There’s a sentry.” She turned to One, looking him up and down. “Okay, strip. I need the uniform if I’m going to get close enough to take him down.”

“We don’t have time for that and I’m already wearing it. Give me two minutes, I’ll try to talk him into leaving his post.”

Two shook her head. “That’s a bad idea. Lying is not one of your strengths.”

“Maybe not, but we don’t have time for anything else. They could close the airlock any minute and we can’t risk a gun battle bringing reinforcements.” He glanced down the long, narrow hallway at the sentry and then back at Two. “Don’t worry, I’ve got this.”

Two took a step towards One and put her hand to his face, tilting it down so that she could look into his eyes. The gesture might have looked romantic to an outside observer, but there was nothing romantic about the look Two gave him as she tried to assess how confident he was that he could pull this off. One meet her gaze and held it for a few seconds before succumbing to the temptation to glance down at her lips quickly. He contemplated kissing her, but suspected that that wouldn’t help his cause.

Two rolled her eyes and slapped him lightly on the face before stepping back. “Don’t screw this up and don’t try to be a hero, understood?”

“No problem.” One grinned at Two and then pulled his visor down, obscuring his face. He turned and strode down the hallway towards the guard.

Two sighed and readied her gun, positioning herself to keep an eye on the hatch to _The Raza_ and the hallway behind her. It wouldn’t do to have anyone sneak up on her now. 

———

“Hurry up kid, we gotta move!” Three hissed at Five. He and Four were leading the way, followed closely by the Android. Five came last and was struggling to keep up. 

“I am hurrying. My legs are just shorter than yours,” Five hissed back. “Left!” she said more loudly as they approached an intersection of two corridors. Three and Four paused briefly to check both direction, weapons at the ready. Seeing no one, they turned and began sprinting in the direction she indicated. 

The corridor was rocked by a nearby explosion. Both Three and Five went sprawling, while Four was driven to his knees. Only the Android was able to remain standing. 

“That explosion was quite close. It is very likely that this ship is taking damage,” the Android monotoned.

“You don’t say?” Three questioned sarcastically from the floor.

“What about _The Raza_?” Five asked worriedly as Four helped her to her feet.

“I am still locked out of most of the core systems but I have been able to access sensors. _The Raza_ appears to be undamaged…at least for now.”

“Well let’s hurry up then,” grumbled Three as he stood and dusted himself off, “so we can make sure that it stays that way.”

“We should proceed with caution. The battle between this ship and its attackers may have damaged corridors or compartments. There could be breeches venting atmosphere or even areas exposed to space.” 

“Great…” Three began.

“Your sarcasm serves no purpose, we need action now,” Four interrupted. “This way.” He continued down the corridor at a cautious jog. Five and the Android followed him.

“It makes me feel better,” Three interjected, as he ran to catch up. “That’s purpose enough.”

At the next corner Four held up his hand to motion for everyone to wait while he checked the hallway. “We have a problem,” he said slowly.

Five leaned to look around him and saw what he he was talking about. The corridor was blocked by a steel bulkhead and other debris from the ceiling, no doubt damage caused by the space battle. Exposed wires fizzed and flared along the ceiling and the walls.

“Well shit. Now what?” asked Three, catching up with the others. “Can we blast it and keep on going?”

“That would be inadvisable,” replied the Android. “Bullets might breach the hull or cause a further collapse of the structure. We should find another way to the ship.”

“Wait,” interjected Five as she approached the blockage. “There’s a small gap right here,” she pointed towards the bottom of the pile, “I think maybe we can squeeze through.” Kneeling she looked at the gap again, “Yes, I can see the hallway and it looks fine - come on!”

Three voices yelled warnings simultaneously but Five had already begun crawling through the gap. It was very dusty and she sneezed as she wiggled through, turning slightly to one side to avoid exposed wires. The hole narrowed as she approached the other side of the hallway, but as Five tried to reach out to pull herself through she felt something sharp scrape against her palm. “Ouch!” she cried out, jerking backward in the confined space. Her back hit something and she both felt and heard the pile shift above her. In a panic, she ignored the pain and grabbed upper part of the opening. Pulling herself through, she snagged and tore her stolen GA tech uniform as she fell out into the hallway. She heard the grinding noise of metal on metal and watched as the gap through which she’d come collapsed. She was now trapped on one side while her crewmates were trapped on the other.

“Kid!” Three’s voice sounded very faint as he called to her.

“Are you injured?” Five barely heard the Android say.

She pulled herself to her feet and looked at her hand. It was bleeding but the cut didn’t look too bad. “No, I’m okay,” she yelled, hoping they could hear her. She tore part of her uniform and wrapped it around her hand as a temporary bandage. “Go back the way we came and take a…” she closed her eyes and tried to remember the ship’s schematics, “Take a right, then a left and another left and it should get you to _The Raza_.” She heard muffled voices in conversation on the other side of the pile but couldn’t make out what was being said. Then she heard footsteps running down the hallway behind her. Startled, she looked up into the face of a GA soldier as he approached her.

“Tech! You hurt?” the soldier asked briskly.

“Ummm, no?” Five replied hesitantly, too surprised to think of anything else to say.

“Good, we need you down on SC-A5,” the soldier turned and hurried back down hallway. When Five didn’t follow, the man stopped and motioned her impatiently. “Well, come on!”

Five swallowed her nervousness and did as he ordered since there didn’t seem to be any other option. Maybe she’d find an opportunity to slip away, but would _The Raza_ still be there when she did?

———

One walked quietly toward the solider guarding the hatchway, his mind busily calculating every move. Walk quickly but not too quickly. Casual but with purpose. Show confidence but don’t be so aggressive that you risk being seen as a potential threat. Don’t fidget with the gun or the unfamiliar uniform. Act like you belong here.

The GA soldier glanced up to briefly look One over when he reached the halfway point in the corridor. But despite One’s worries, the guard didn’t seem to notice anything amiss. Instead he turned to look back into the airlock. As One got close to the entrance he heard the sounds of voices coming from inside. A man in a tech uniform pushed a cart full of tools and equipment out of the hatch, moving past One without seeming to notice him. The man with the cart was followed by a female tech who stopped briefly to speak to the guard. One couldn’t hear what she said but he caught the guard’s reply. “I don’t care. If they don’t leave that ship soon I’m going to lock their asses in and they can explain it to the staff at JO. One lucky blast and we’ll all be getting a real close look at the outside of the ship.” The tech didn’t reply but hurried to follow her coworker. Glancing back behind him, One saw both of the techs stop midway down the hallway. The first punched a code into a keypad to open a lift and then they both pushed the cart inside. One turned back to the airlock and stepped inside, saying a short, silent prayer to no one in particular that the next words out of his mouth would sound believable. 

Before he could say anything, One felt someone brush by him. It was the first of two more techs exiting _The Raza_. One took the opportunity to casually step backward a few paces. One more step and he’d be on the ship.

“Keep your shirt on, Trufant, we’re going,” snarked one of the techs. “And McGee will be out in half a minute, she’s just finishing up.”

“That’s still too long,” muttered the guard as the techs made their ways to the lift. “Hey, what do you think you’re doing?” he yelled at One, finally noticing where he was going.

“Uh, there’s…some issues with the comms. The…um…lieutenant wants to see you. I’ll take over here.” One took another step and crossed the threshold onto _The Raza_.

“What are you talking about? Lt. Carmichael just checked on our status two minutes ago. Come back here!” The soldier strode towards One and grabbed him by his sleeve to pull him back out of the ship. One reached for the gun holstered at his thigh and the guard reacted instantly, twisting and using his momentum to throw One face first into the wall at the back of the airlock. One managed to pull his weapon free but stilled when he felt the muzzle of a gun against the back of his neck, just above where the body armor covering his back.

“Drop it, nice and slow,” hissed the guard. One considered his alternatives for a few seconds and then did as he was ordered. “Now turn around. Slowly. Slowly. Okay now off with the helmet, wise-guy, and let’s have a look at you.”

One complied and was just reaching up to unfasten his helmet when a blur of movement behind the soldier caught his eyes.

“Get down!” yelled Two as she sprinted along the hallway, her gun aimed at the guard’s back. One threw himself to the floor as the GA soldier swung around to aim at her. Two fired five shots in rapid succession, hitting the man in the back, side, and chest. He stumbled backward, falling over One in the process. One reached out to pin the guard’s gun arm down as Two reached them. She punched the guard twice in the face and he lay still. 

One took the gun from the soldier’s hand and stood to retrieve his own weapon as well. “See, just like we planned it,” he quipped as he pushed up the visor of his helmet.

“We got lucky,” Two replied. “Now drag him out of the way and I’ll see what I can find out from the computer.” One grabbed the soldier’s feet and pulled him toward the hallway. Two glanced that direction to make sure that the shots hadn’t alerted anyone to their presence. She heard a series of beeps behind her and turned to see a woman in a tech uniform entering something into the keypad on _The Raza’s_ side of the airlock. “Stop!” she yelled, aiming at the woman and firing, hitting her in chest. The tech cried out but stumbled past Two as the airlock door began to close. Two threw herself inside, landing with a thump on the metal floor of _The Raza_ as the door clicked in place behind her. Getting to her feet quickly she looked out through the glass window and locked eyes with One on the other side of the door. Beyond him she could see the tech laying motionless in the airlock. 

Two moved to the keypad and tapped in the sequence to open the door. Nothing happened. She tried it again and again nothing. She returned to the door and saw that One was trying to pull it open with no result. “I’m locked out!” she yelled at him.

One heard her and stopped trying to open the hatch. He glanced behind him and saw that the other end of the airlock was still open to the hallway. A warning alarm sounded through the airlock signally that ship separation was eminent. He glanced up at Two and seeing the horror in her face he realized she’d had the same thought he was having. If _The Raza_ disengaged and the outer airlock didn’t close, he’d be sucked out into space. And, unlike Two, he had no nanites to protect him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, but I think I have a plan now for how to finish this story. One of the challenges has been that each time I think of something that needs to be there to end it I realize that choice means that several other things have to happen as a result. It feels a little endless and frustrating. It's good news for you, I guess, if you like this story...it means that there will be more of it than I originally intended.
> 
> Hopefully those of you reading along will enjoy this chapter and think that it was worth the wait.


	13. Last Gasp

Five followed the Galactic Authority soldier down the hallway, trying to keep her head down so that she wouldn’t be recognized. She needn’t have bothered because he barely looked at her as they ran, seemingly more concerned with a conversation going on in his comm. Five couldn’t hear what was being said on the other end, only the soldier’s replies.

“McGee said they were almost done, Lieutenant. Yes ma’am. I’m on my way now. Lieutenant? Lieutenant Carmichael?” The soldier gave an exasperated sigh, “Damn comms are on the fritz.”

They approached a portion of corridor that contained a bay of computer terminals. Several were completely dark and others blinked intermittently. The soldier waved in the general direction of the terminals, “We took a hit that shorted random systems on the ship. Seems to be periodically affecting things like artificial gravity, the comms, computers, and cameras in this area. See what you can do with it.” And without a backward glance towards Five he ran off down the hallway.

“Okay?” said Five tentatively. She stepped inside the bay and peeked around the corner until the soldier was out of sight and then she looked around to make sure no one else was watching her. Satisfied that she was alone for the time being, Five considered her next move. She could run back the way she’d come to try to find Three, Four, and the Android, but there was no guarantee that they’d still be there. In fact, it was more likely that they’d moved on and she couldn’t afford to run blindly around the ship on the chance that she’d bump into them. The better option was to locate _The Raza_ and hope that the others were able to find their own way there. But Five had only memorized the path to _The Raza_ from the brig, not the rest of the GA ship. She needed more information and her best option at the moment was to get at least one terminal up and running. With a determined nod, Five turned to one of the blinking computers and got to work.

———

One looked around desperately, trying to find a way to either open the inner airlock to _The Raza_ or close the outer airlock connecting it to the Galactic Authority vessel. On the other side of the door, Two had pulled off the housing covering the wiring of the locking mechanism. The countdown to ship separation continued in a slow, inexorable drone. Two pulled out a pair of wires, disconnecting one end of each from the system, and began reconnecting them to each other. “I hope this works,” she muttered to herself. “Where’s Five when you need her?” 

On his side of the door, One yelled in frustration. None of the control panels were working and there was nothing else he could use, unless he wanted to try to shoot his way inside. His hands brushed against the outer pocket of the GA uniform he wore and he felt something inside. He reached in and pulled out the lock picking device that he’d used to free Two. Turning quickly, One held the device against the locking mechanism of the inner airlock. After a few breathless seconds, there was a whirring sound, followed by a beep and clank as the lock disengaged. With a whirring noise, the door slid open.

Two looked up in surprise and confusion, “How? I hadn’t finished…”

One showed her the device, “Five gave it to me. I’d forgotten I still had it.” 

The sound of a warning alarm rang through the airlock. “Error. Countdown aborted. Airlock breached. Close the breach to reengage,” monotoned an automated voice.

Two grinned up at him. “How did you know that would work?”

“You told me once, remember? When we were on our way to that first space station and you were going over the ship’s systems.” He closed his eyes slightly so that could better remember the exact phrasing. “If the ship is docked, a breach in the inner airlock automatically overrides an order to disengage,” he said, quoting Two’s words back to her. Opening his eyes, he smiled at her. “It’s a safety protocol. See, I do listen.”

Two stood up. “We’re still locked out of _The Raza’s_ systems and sooner or later the GA is going send someone to find out why the ship is still docked. Stow those bodies and guard the airlock. I’m going to the bridge to see if I can get control of something…anything. Hey,” she grabbed One’s uniform as he started to follow her orders, “If you see anyone coming down that hallway and they aren’t one of ours, shoot them. They won’t hesitate to shoot you, remember that.” She shook him slightly before letting him go. “We can’t afford to lose the ship again.”

One looked at her and nodded. “I understand. Go on, see what you can do - I’ll take care of things here.”

Two paused in place for a few seconds, unsure if she was doing the right thing. Then with an impatient shake of her head she turned and began running toward the bridge. 

———

“Are you sure we’re going in the right direction? I don’t remember any of this,” Six asked Reiss. He was following the soldier at what he hoped was a safe distance, ready to run or fight if the situation required it.

“Yes sir,” Ensign Reiss replied as he turned left down a corridor and stopped in front of a closed door. “Huh,” he said, somewhat surprised, “it should be just through here.” Reiss reached up to trigger the mechanism that would open the door but nothing happened. He tried again with the same result. 

Six walked up to the door, moving Reiss out of the way so that he could put his hand on it. It was cold to the touch. “There’s been a hull breach. This area must be exposed to space now…caused by the attack on the ship maybe?” When he turned, he found Reiss pointing a gun at him. “Hey now, what is this?"

Reiss grinned at Six and shrugged. “A bit of a disappointment, actually. I had hoped to shoot you and your mercenary buddies in the brig. That would have made it so much easier to sell the story that you were all killed trying to escape. But needs must, as they say, so I guess this will have to do.” 

“Right, and why do you want to kill me and my…buddies?” 

“You’ve made some enemies it seems. People who want you dead badly enough that they’re willing to pay a lot of money to make it happen.”

Six gestured casually towards the other man. “So you’re an assassin, huh?” He shook his head, “I don’t buy it, in fact I’d bet you’ve never done anything like this before. You’ve fought in a battle or two, maybe. Roughed some prisoners up when they couldn’t fight back, sure. But executing someone? No. What happens if you miss and hit the door behind me? You could depressurize this entire section, kill both of us. It’s not worth the risk. So why don’t you just calm down and put the gun away long enough for us talk. Maybe we can come up with a different solution to this situation.”

“I’m whatever I need to be to survive,” Reiss replied, no longer smiling. “Everybody’s got devils in their past. It’s time to pay mine…and yours.” He took aim at Six’s head.

“Don’t I know it,” Six said ruefully. In a smooth motion he rushed the solider, pushing Reiss’s arm up and grabbing for the gun. In the struggle it went off but the bullet missed Six to embed itself harmlessly in the ceiling of the corridor. Six used his size and superior strength to wrestle the gun away from the smaller man. He kicked out at Reiss’s legs, knocking him back against the sealed door. Reiss fell to his knees but recovered quickly, struggling upward to regain his feet while also reaching to unhook the stun stick attached at his waist. 

But by the time he had managed that, Six was aiming the gun at him. “Put it down, Ensign. I will shoot you if I have to and, trust me, I won’t miss. So don’t do anything stupid.”

“Okay. Okay,” Reiss said moving slowly to put the stun stick on the floor of the corridor. He held his hands out as he straightened up. “What now?”

“Now we’re going to talk about who’s paying you to kill me…and why.”

———

“We should have taken a left at that last hallway.”

“No, no, we’re good. I’ve got a perfect sense of direction.”

“So you keep telling us. And yet we are clearly lost.” 

“Four is correct, we are moving further into this ship.”

“And how could you know that, robot?” Three asked.

“My sensors can determine relative direction given enough data and,” she pointed at a sign near a doorway, “in addition, when we were approaching the docking areas these signs had a DK prefix. Now they have a PA prefix.” She turned toward Three. “You may recall that you were imprisoned in an area with a PA prefix…”

“Okay, okay, no one likes a smart ass robot.” Three shifted nervously, glancing in both directions as if expecting to be attacked if they stayed still for too long. “What do you suggest then?”

“We passed a series of computer terminals. It would be more efficient if I interfaced with the ship’s computer to attempt to ascertain the best path to _The Raza_.”

“That area was very exposed, there will be no where to conceal ourselves if a member of this ship’s crew approaches,” Four pointed out.

“Then I will have to work quickly,” she replied. Turning in the direction that they’d just come from, she retraced their steps followed closely by Four. Three sighed impatiently but then followed as well. 

The computers were located in a slight indention in the main hallway, across from a narrow service corridor which ended at a closed door. When the trio reached the terminals, the Android held up her left hand and began to twist the tip of her index finger. The fingertip unscrewed and, when removed, revealed a data connector. The fingertip remained attached by a piece of synthetic skin, and the Android moved it out of the way so that she could insert the connector into a port in the computer. 

“Seriously? That’s just disgusting.” Three wrinkled his nose in distaste.

Four ignored him and turned to the Android. “Can we assist you in any way?”

“No. But my attention will be on obtaining the information we need and I will not be able to help if we are attacked.”

“So you need us to guard your back?” Three asked.

“Yes, that would be…nice,” the Android said as she closed her eyes and began trying to disable the computer’s security measures. “And if you do not wish to be discovered, then I suggest that you be quiet until I finish.” 

“Well of course. We’re professionals after all,” Three muttered. He took up a position on one side of the computer terminal and absentmindedly twirled the stolen GA gun in and out of his thigh holster as he watched the hallway. 

Four gave a low chuckle and turned to monitor the other side of the corridor. The three crewmates stood in complete silence for a minute or two. Suddenly they heard the unmistakable sound of a nearby gun shot. Both Three and Four turned instantly toward the sound, guns at the ready. But they saw no sign of anyone coming toward them, only the closed door at the end of the service corridor.

“Whatever is going on, evidently they’re not shooting at us,” observed Four.

“But who the hell else would the GA be shooting at?” Three paused and then answered himself. “One of the others maybe? Five, or One and Two?” 

Without acknowledging the question, Four ran silently down the service corridor in the direction of the sound.

“What are you doing?” Three hissed after him. Four slowed as he approached the end of the corridor. Aiming his gun at the door with one hand, he tripped the sensor to open it with the other. The door slid silently open to reveal a hallway that ran perpendicular to the one in which he was standing. Carefully Four glanced down the hallway, first in one direction and then the other. Then he froze and brought his gun up to aim down the left side of the corridor. With his free hand he gestured for Three to join him. 

Three gave a final, worried glance at the Android, but walked toward the doorway as quietly as he could manage. As Three approached, Four nodded in the direction he was aiming. “Look,” Four whispered. Confused, Three moved to stand behind the other man so that he could glance over his shoulder.

“Well, ain’t it just a small ship after all,” Three whispered in reply. 

Ahead and just barely out of earshot, Six stood with his back to them aiming a gun at a Galactic Authority soldier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Every chapter I think I'm almost done and every time I'm disappointed. Oh well...onward!


	14. The Devil Takes His Due

“We can take him.”

“No.”

“Come on, we can’t just leave him walkin’ around, knowin’ what he knows, not after what he did to us,” Three insisted. They could hear the sound of the two men talking in the other corridor but couldn’t quite distinguish what was being said. He adjusted his grip on the gun he was holding and took a step closer to the opening of the service hallway. Four’s hand on his arm stopped him from moving any closer.

“I share your desire for revenge, but we don't know what is going on here,” Four replied quietly. “Finding out the answers will take time and that we do not have. Not here, not now.”

“Screw that, I’ll make him tell tell us whatever we need to know.” Three shrugged out of the hold and quietly stepped out into the hallway.

“No! Stay here!” Four hissed, but Three ignored him. He glanced back down the corridor to where the Android was still connected to the terminal. Stay to protect her or backup Three? He needed to decide quickly. 

——

Five lay in front of a computer terminal surrounded by wires and other mechanical odds and ends. She’d cannibalized parts from some of the other nearby computers in the hopes of making at least one of them work. Then, without warning, the detritus around her started floating off the floor.

“Not again.” Five grabbed on to the inner workings of the computer she was fixing as her body began to float as well. She remembered what happened when the gravity failed on _The Raza_ and she couldn’t afford to be end up unconscious here. As quickly as it had gone off, the artificial gravity came back on and all the floating object came back down to the floor with a clatter.

“Oof,” Five groaned as she hit the floor. “I’m going to be bruised all over at this rate.” Reaching into the open panel she reconnected a few wires in what she hoped was the last repair. When the computer terminal above her hummed back to life, she gave a little cheer and fist pump before rushing to her feet to look at the screen. Typing a few commands into a nearby panel she nodded in satisfaction - it was working well enough to give her access to basic systems, like a map of the ship’s layout, but still malfunctioning enough that the ship’s computer security system wouldn’t engage and lock her out. Perfect.

She typed a few more commands, searching for the systems that would help her locate _The Raza_. She finally found it by accessing the ship’s docking sensors. Five’s pulse quickened when she saw that a ship was still docked and quickly typed commands to request the identity of the docked ship. When the answer came back, she sighed in relief and immediately searched to see if she could access any cameras in that area. As expected, she couldn’t - the soldier who had left her here had mentioned that the cameras were malfunctioning, so perhaps that was the issue. She noticed a series of flashing lights at the top of the screen and typed a new set of commands. The flashing lights were revealed to be error messages, notices of instructions sent from the bridge of the GA ship to _The Raza_ ordering it to disengage, a receipt of that order and an error message stating that ship separation was halted due to safety protocol being engaged. Then a series of additional orders to disengage, all followed by error messages.

Five pondered what this could mean. Perhaps Two and One made it to the ship and were holding it until the rest of them arrived? Or maybe errors were due to either _The Raza_ or the GA ship being damaged by whatever was going on outside the ship? Either way, it was only a matter of time before more soldiers were sent to investigate the situation, so she didn’t have any time to waste. Five studied the schematics to make sure she knew how to get to _The Raza_ from her current location. Then she noticed something else in the error messages and grinned in excitement.

——

“Describe him, this nameless man who blackmailed you.” Six kept the gun trained on Reiss, watching him closely for any sign that the soldier was about to pull another weapon.

“White guy in his forties maybe? Brown hair and hipster beard. Jacket buttoned up to his neck. Talks like he owns the universe and you’re too stupid to understand what he’s saying. Looks at you like you’re worth less than the air you breathe.”

Six paused, considering. “Yeah, I know someone who could fit that description.” Didn’t realize we’d pissed him off enough to order a hit on us, he thought to himself, but then I guess that’s safer than risking the Galactic Authority finding out about his experiments with human facsimiles. He made a mental note to warn the others, but then he caught himself and smiled ruefully. They were on their way to be prosecuted by the GA themselves, thanks to him. It was a little too late for warnings.

“What are you smiling about?” Reiss asked nervously, interrupting Six’s reverie. 

“Relax, Ensign. It wasn’t anything to do with you. I was just thinking about how quickly situations change.”

“Ain’t that the truth.” replied a familiar voice behind him. Six began to turn but stopped when he felt a gun pushed against his back. “Drop it,” Three said, “slowly. Shooting you in the back wouldn’t be very satisfying, but I’ll settle for it inna pinch.”

“If I do that, then he’ll,” Six gestured at Reiss, “just attack all of us, or warn the ship.”

“Oh, we’ve got that covered.” Three glanced quickly to his right as Four approached with his gun aimed at the ensign. “Now, drop it.”

——

One paced nervously near the hatch connecting _The Raza_ to the _Aegeus_. He wondered what was keeping the others, after all they couldn’t have been too far behind he and Two. And what about the ship, would Two be able to access the systems? 

“Yet again, too many problems to worry about and not enough information to do anything useful,” he grumbled to himself. Being alone wasn’t helping his nerves any. At this point he’d even be happy to see Three again.

He was so distracted with his thoughts that it took him a while to notice the sound of footsteps approaching the hallway that led to the hatch. Realizing what he’d almost done, he cursed quietly and positioned himself near the airlock - close enough to see whoever was walking towards him but hopefully enough out of the way to not present an easy target. He shifted on his feet nervously and waited.

At last the footsteps slowed and stopped. After a few moments of silence, a small figure in a tech uniform stepped out into the hallway and began to walk hesitantly toward to airlock. One squinted to try to make out any features of the approaching figure. Although he couldn’t tell for sure, the way they walked seemed familiar so One decided to take a chance. Breaking cover he stood where he could be seen and called out cautiously, “Five?”

“One!” Five cried out in relief and broke out into a run, quickly closing the distance between them. She threw her arms around him in a hug, which he returned with one arm.

“Are you alright? Where are the others?” he asked, holding the gun at his side.

“We got separated,” Five answered, stepping back to look up at him. “Do you still have that lock pick I gave you?”

“Yeah,” he mumbled, fishing it out of his pocket and holding to out to her. She immediately grabbed it and bolted down the corridor toward the _The Raza’s_ crew quarters. 

“Hey, where’re you going? I could use some help here, we’re locked out of the ship’s controls!” One called after her.

“I need some tools! I’ll be right back,” came the reply.

One sighed. “Great,” he muttered. “I’ll just stand here, doing nothing.” He took up his position beside the airlock again. “Where the hell are they?”

——

“Easy now,” Three said as Six slowly placed his gun on the floor. “Go stand over there against the wall with your hands up. You too.” Three motioned to Reiss who put his hands up and walked to stand beside Six with his back to the wall.

“Look, you’re angry, I get it. But right now you need to put that aside,” Six said as looked between both of his former shipmates. “Based on what I just found out we’re all in danger.”

“Angry! Damn right!" Three shook his head as he glared at Six. “What happened to you, man? What did they offer you? Of all of us, you were the last one I thought would pull something like this...”

“Enough,” Four cut in before Three could continue. “What danger?”

“I’d be happy to tell you but I need to know that you're not going to kill me as soon as I do.”

“Sure,” sneered Three. “We won’t kill you.”

Six gave a mirthless chuckle. “And I can trust that, right?”

“Just as much as we could trust you,” Three replied sarcastically.

“I told you back in the cells what would happen when I found you again,” Four answered coolly. “The best you can hope for now is a quick and relatively honorable death.”

“Yeah, that’s not much of an incentive,” Six said calmly.

“I can tell you what you want to know,” interjected Reiss, “Just agree to let me go and I’ll tell you what I told Jones. Then I’ll walk away and let you all get on with…whatever you need to do.”

Three started to speak but stopped when his feet lost connection with the floor. “What the…” he began.

“Gravity’s off,” Reiss said, stating the obvious as all four men began to float toward the ceiling. Three let out a string of angry curses and Four began moving to holster his gun. Suddenly the gravity was back and they all crashed to the floor of the corridor face first. Four and Three’s guns clattered out of their grips. 

For a few heartbeats there were four weapons laying in an empty space on the floor between the four men. Six recovered first and glanced up to survey the situation. He locked eyes with Four who was just picking himself up. They looked at each other for a few seconds, weighing who was faster, as both Reiss and Three began to stir. Six then launched himself toward the weapons, scrambling to grab the closest gun. Four was on him before he reached it, knocking it out of his hand. In the scrum, the stun stick was knocked back towards the door to the service corridor. 

Six was stronger but Four was more agile. They wrestled to a stalemate - throwing punches and elbows, but neither was able to free himself enough to grab one of the remaining weapons. Two of the guns were kicked out of the pile toward where Reiss and Three were just getting to their knees. Reiss paused a few seconds in surprise at his luck, but Three didn’t wait. He threw himself forward, grabbing a gun and rolling into a sitting position just as Reiss’s fingers reached the other gun. Three pulled the trigger and the bullet hit Reiss in the middle of his forehead. He fell backward and lay still.

Three moved into a crouch as he turned toward the other combatants. Six had maneuver himself against the wall so that he could gain enough leverage to kick out at Four with force. Four blocked the kick but it put enough distance between them that Six was able to grab the remaining gun.

Six staggered to his feet facing Three and Four, his back to the service corridor. He aimed the gun at Three, who was now also on his feet. Slightly in front of Three, Four was slowly beginning to stand. 

“Now everybody just calm down.” Six was out of breath as he spoke. “Nobody else needs to die here.” Before Six could continue, Three and Four heard the buzzing sound of a stun stick being activated. Six froze and then shook as the electricity hit him. Finally the sound stopped and he collapsed to the floor, the gun slipping out of his hand as he lay unconscious. 

Behind him stood the Android, stun stick in hand. “That was strangely…satisfying,” she said as she looked down at Six.

“Way to go, Robot!” cheered Three as he switched the gun to his left hand. With his right he reach down and took the gun from Six while Four claimed the gun that Reiss has dropped. “Now stand back so I can shoot him,” Three said, as he brought both guns up to aim. 

Putting down the stun stick, The Android picked up Six. “No,” she said tersely, “He may have information vital to the safety of the ship.”

“She’s right,” Four said, stopping Three before he could complain. “Revenge can wait.” Stooping to pick up the stun stick, Four address the Android, “Have you located _The Raza_?”

“Yes, it is still docked. We will need to hurry to reach it but it isn’t far.” Shifting Six over her shoulder, she turned and walked quickly down the corridor in the direction of the ship. Four and Three exchanged a glance.

“There’s always the airlock,” said Three begrudgingly. “Spacing is the traditional penalty for traitors.”

“Or execution by sword,” replied Four. Not waiting for a reply, he hurried after the Android. Three followed closely behind him, both guns at the ready.

——

Five ran the lock picking device over the wall on the _Aegeus_ side of the airlock.

“What are you looking for?” One asked from his position inside _The Raza_.

“There’s an access panel here. I saw it on the schematics,” Five replied. Right on cue, she heard a small click and a bit of wall slid aside to reveal a series of wires and computer components. “If I cut the right cables I can prevent the GA ship from being able to send commands to _The Raza_. That might give us some control over the ship’s systems again.”

“Well, hurry up. You’re too exposed out there,” One said.

“The error messages called it Data Cable 5,” Five said to herself, not really paying attention to One. “They were having problems with it earlier…shouldn’t be too hard to find.” Her fingers brushed aside some green cords to reveal a blue one. “Ah ha!” she said triumphantly.

One heard footsteps approaching the corridor to the airlock. “Too late, get back here,” he hissed at Five.

“Just a few more seconds,” Five muttered, reaching into the wires with her cutting tool.

One cursed and, putting the GA helmet back on, he repositioned himself inside the outer airlocks, just as the sentry had been placed when he and Two had arrived. “Hope I fair a bit better than he did,” One said ruefully. 

At that moment, four Galactic Authority soldiers turned the corner and headed toward the airlock. “Trufant!” yelled one of them. “What gives? Why is the merc ship still docked?”

“Uh, communications issues,” One replied, hoping that the helmet muffled his voice enough to sound like the dead soldier. He looked down where Five crouched frozen with fear. “The techs are working on it.” One motioned to her with his gun. “Hurry up…er, McGee. Finish up inside the ship.” 

Five scrambled to her feet and, with her back to the approaching guards, hurried inside _The Raza’s_ airlock. One began backing up in a way that he hoped looked nonchalant.

“Hey, that’s not McGee, is it?” asked one of the soldiers.

“What do you think you’re playing at, Trufant?” called another.

“That’s not Trufant either,” said a soldier, raising his weapon to point it at One.

One threw himself inside _The Raza_ , landing on the floor on the left side of the airlock. He heard gunshots pass over his head and, turning, he returned fire at the oncoming soldiers. He hit the nearest one, who fell to the floor and lay motionless. Five picked up Trufant’s gun, which One had laid near the airlock control panel and took aim at the three remaining soldiers. She fired but missed them. The soldiers continued shooting but began backing away in an attempt to take cover in the connecting corridor. Suddenly there were more gunshots and two of the soldiers went down, hit from behind. The last soldier turned to face the source of this new attack but he was immediate shot and fell, lying still beside the other fallen soldiers.

Four and Three turned the corner and began running toward the airlock. The Android followed quickly behind them, still carrying Six.

One got to his feet and took off his helmet. “About time,” he chided as the others entered _The Raza_.

“Yeah, well we got delayed dealing with our old friend,” Three said gesturing towards Six.

“Is he dead?” asked Five nervously.

“No...unfortunately,” Three replied.

“We need to shut this and be on our way before reinforcements get here,” Four said, joining Five near the airlock controls.

“I have not regained full control of _The Raza’s_ systems, but that is one function I believe I can access,” the Android replied. She closed her eyes briefly to access the ship’s systems through her neural link. After a few seconds, both the outer and inner airlock doors closed with a bang.

As soon as the doors closed, the crew heard the ship’s sub-light engines kick in. _The Raza_ disconnected itself and began to move away from the _Aegeus_.

“Two must have gotten control of the drive systems,” One guessed as he began to jog toward the bridge.

“Perhaps, but I doubt it,” said the Android, following him. “Whatever is the case, I still do not have access to the navigation or drive systems. Something or someone else is in control of the ship.”

They heard the sound of the engines change. “FTL is fixed at least,” Three said. “Anyone got a guess where we’re headed?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost done! One more chapter to go.
> 
> The main thing I regret about this chapter (and the story in general) is that I've not been able to work Two in more.


	15. The End and the Beginning

“We’re heading back to base, Captain.” Lassiter Haig checked readings on _The Diablo’s_ sensors as he spoke. “We’ve taken some damage but we’re still space-worthy…mostly. _The Tiger_ and _Moltke-Adder_ report sustaining damage as well, but they both followed us into FTL.”

“And the Galactic Authority destroyer,” asked Ardella Smith, taking a seat beside him.

“They aren’t following,” Lassiter replied, “I saw some sections venting atmosphere but I doubt we permanently damaged them.”

“Doesn’t matter as long as we got away with our prize. I assume the drone was successful?”

“I didn’t have a chance to check for communications from it during the battle, but _The Raza_ jumped to FTL, so I assume so.” Lassiter said, turning to face her. “Congratulations Captain.” 

“Find out where the ship’s heading and then congratulate me, Mr. Haig,” Smith cautioned. “If you find that it hasn’t communicated with us yet, try to reestablish a link to the drone. I want to know exactly where _The Raza_ drops out into regular space so that, if everything has gone to plan, we can go pick her up.” She stretched and stood up. “In the meanwhile, I’m going to check on the rest of the crew, see what we can do as far as the repairs.”

“Understood, Captain.”

“I’ll send someone to relieve you shortly. Good work, Lassiter.”

——

“Status report, Carmichael?”

“The three ships are gone, as is _The Raza_. There’s damage to several of the _Aegeus’s_ systems. It will be some time before we’re able assess the extent of the damage and make repairs. We still have sub-light and FTL is nearly repaired, for what it’s worth. We’re still gathering the injury and casualty numbers.”

“And the prisoners,” Commander Ikari asked, without turned to look at her.

“We were venting atmosphere in the corridors near the prison area, so it took us a while to get access to PA-1 and 2.” Carmichael suppressed the urge to pace, but nervously clutched her hands together behind her back. “The prisoners are gone, Commander. The personnel in the prison block were overpowered and render unconscious, but most of them have recovered now. We found a security detail dead near where _The Raza_ was docked. Our soldiers were shot, so there’s a chance that the prisoners may have been on the ship when it jumped to FTL. The techs assure me that the guidance systems were programmed to send it to the nearest Class 1 Technical Facility, so if the mercs did manage to make it to their ship they’ll be recaptured once they drop into normal space. But I’ve sent security to search the _Aegeus_ , just in case. If they’re here, we’ll find them, sir.”

“And Jones?”

“Also missing. We found Dr. Matthews handcuffed but alive in the infirmary. She is a bit shaken but she’ll be fine. In fact, she’s helping triage the injured as we speak.” 

Commander Ikari smiled briefly at that. “Of course she is.” As he turned, Carmichael saw that he had a tablet in his hands.

Ikari noticed her looking at it and slipped the tablet into a pocket of his uniform. “It’s not GA Command, Lieutenant. I haven’t had the chance yet to inform them of our situation.” He paused. “My father…died…two hours ago. Word reached us during the battle. It took a while for the communications staff to get it to me, understandable given the situation.”

“I’m so sorry, sir.”

“Me too, Lieutenant. Me too…about so many things.” Commander Ikari quickly switched to a cool, professional tone. “I want you to supervise the search for the prisoners personally, Lieutenant. Let me know what you find, or don’t find, as soon as the search is completed.”

“Yes, sir. I will.”

——

Two smacked her hand against the console in frustration. She had tried everything she could think of to get access to the ship’s systems without any luck. Suddenly she heard someone running toward the bridge. Turning quickly, she grabbed her gun and aimed at the open door. One ran into view, slowing when he saw Two aiming at him. It was eerily similar to the situation between them before the Galactic Authority boarded and, when he looked at her, Two could see the doubt in his eyes, the unasked questions. Flustered, she lowered her weapon.

“What’s our status?” she asked at last. She was mostly able to keep the emotion out of her voice.

“I could ask you the same thing,” One replied, watching her closely. Then he looked away briefly before walking toward her again. “Five, Four, Three, and the Android are onboard. Everyone seems okay. The Android brought Six with her. He’s currently unconscious, but she’s locking him in the isolation chamber just in case. Apparently he knows something we need to know.”

“I bet he does.” The anger was clear in Two’s voice now. “I can think of a few questions I’d like to ask him.” 

“Three’s not happy about it…Six being on board, that is.” One stopped within a few inches of Two and waited.

“Three’s rarely happy about anything that isn’t money, guns, booze, or sex,” Two quipped.

“True,” One replied quietly, continuing to watch her cautiously, “it makes me wonder why you’d act on his opinions about me without evidence...particularly when it results in both of you threatening to kill me.”

“Look about before, I’m sorry for not trusting you. Six played us. He took advantage of our fears and doubts and we all made mistakes as a result.” Two reached out and touched his shoulder gently. “All of us,” she said, emphasizing the first word. “Including you, because Three was no more the traitor than you were." One tried to speak, but Two continued. "I know it’s not going to be easy to move on and it’s probably going to take all of us some time, but we need to trust each other. Because if our weaknesses made it easy for Six to manipulate us, other people will be able to exploit that too." She paused and cleared her throat. "And I need to know if there are going to be problems between us because of the things that were said…and done. I need to know that you're still with me.”

One stayed silent for a while, but then gave a resigned sigh and looked away. “As far as the ship goes, no there won’t be any problems.” When he looked at her again there was less tension in his face. “I trust you to do your best for us, lead us in the right direction, as you see it. I always have.”

Two quirked an eyebrow at that. “Always?” She laughed. “Really? Because that's not how I remember it.” 

That made One smile a little. “Okay, mostly,” he conceded. “But as far as us, personally,” he took her hand, covering it with his own, “…that’s going to take some time. And I think we’re going to have to talk about it, a lot, to fix any of...what happened.” He let go of her hand and stepped away, out of reach. “But perhaps now’s not the best time.” He walked over to the the main system controls and began reading the displays. “How’s the ship?”

Two moved to stand beside him. “FTL is repaired, obviously. We're still locked out of most systems and I don’t know exactly where we’re headed, but it looks like the destination is beyond the outer rim, not in towards the Galactic Authority, so that’s something.”

“The Android said she’s been able to gain control of some systems. Maybe with time she can crack the locks on the others?”

“Maybe,” agreed Two. “We’ve also lost our comms. Hopefully we have extras in the vault.”

“Do we still have access to the vault, or did they changes the codes on that as well?”

“I don’t know. Why don’t we find out?” Two turned and walked out of the bridge. She didn’t turn around to see if he was following her. After a few moments, he followed her anyway.

——

“Will that hold him,” Three asked. He was pacing in the infirmary while the Android checked various diagnostics. The isolation shield was in place and behind it Six lay unconscious.

“The isolation chamber is meant to protect the crew from infection and attack by the person held within it,” the Android replied. “Besides, if it could hold Two, it will certainly hold Six.”

“Will he be alright?” Five was sitting cross-legged on an infirmary exam table. She was angry with Six still, but Three’s agitated pacing made her nervous. 

“Yes, he’ll be fine once he wakes up.” The Android finished what she was working on and turned to face the others. “I may have been overly…vigorous, when I stunned him.”

“That’s nothin’ compared to what I’ll do to him once he wakes up,” Three grumbled, walking quickly out of the room.

“What does that mean?” Five turned to look at Four, who stood leaning against a nearby storage cabinet.

“He betrayed us and he will have to answer for that,” Four replied firmly. “We also need to know what he knows and what he told the Galactic Authority about all of us. He may resist telling us.”

Five looked confused but before she could ask more questions, Four pushed off from the cabinet and began to walk out of the infirmary. “I am going to search the ship,” he said over his shoulder, pausing for a moment in doorway. “We need to know if the GA left us any…surprises. Coming?” He turned to glance at Five. “Given recent events we may need to speed up your training.”

Five blinked in surprise when she realized he was asking her to join him. Reaching behind her, she picked up the gun she had used at the airlock and hopped down from the exam table. She gave the Android a small, nervous smile and followed Four to check _The Raza_. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After months of silence, two chapters in one night. Happy Easter, everyone who's reading along. I hope you enjoy both chapters, despite the fact that Four and Three have been giving me fits. I'm having a devil of a time making them sound like themselves, for some reason.
> 
> Oh, and I was wrong (again) - one more chapter to go. Although it will probably be short and mostly an epilogue.


	16. Coda

“Report.”

“Ensign Reiss is dead.”

“Who? Oh yes, Reiss, now I remember. And the crew of _The Raza_?”

“Missing. Security is searching for them, but my bet is that they made it back to their own ship.”

“That is quite…disappointing.”

“Indeed. I did warn you that Reiss would be useless. He was a common bully with no creativity or subtlety.”

“It is immaterial. He was expendable and, besides, his death was always part of the plan. Ideally it would have come after he had killed the others…”

“Indeed. If I had known your intentions a bit sooner I could have gotten rid of the girl and possibly the one they call Corso.”

“It was a quickly developing situation.” There was a pause. “Girl? Do you mean Rebec…hmmm, Portia Lin?”

“No, the other one. I don’t think we have any name for her on file. She’s about five feet tall, teal hair - a teenager, I think.”

“Interesting. And you are sure she was part of the crew?”

“Quite. Anything else?”

“Make copies of whatever information the Galactic Authorities gathered on the crew of _The Raza_ while they were in custody, including camera footage.”

“That may be difficult, but I’ll see what I can do.”

“When you send the information, include a detailed report of any interactions you had with the mercenaries, including this mystery girl. Your observations may be useful.”

“Hmmmm. As you wish. Good night, Mr. Rook.”

“Yes…and to you.” And with that the communications transmission was cut.

“My observations _might_ be useful? What an ass,” Dr. Matthews said as she turned off her computer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that's it - the story is finally (FINALLY!) done. Thank you for reading and for commenting. Your feedback helped keep me motivated to finish this thing even when it became obvious that it was much bigger than I had originally intended and more complicated than I was perhaps ready to take on. Still it's now the one and only thing I've actually finished writing, so thank you for helping me get there.


End file.
